
Class _LZB3d— 
Book .C •: 

Copyright W . 



COFiHtGIfT DEPOSIT. 



RECREATION FOR TEACHERS OR THE 
TEACHER'S LEISURE TIME 



IHome anfc Scbool Series 

Edited by PAUL MONROE 



Curtis: Education through Play. 

Curtis: The Practical Conduct of Play. 

Curtis : The Play Movement and its Significance. 

Curtis : Recreation for Teachers. 

Cloyd: Modern Education in Europe and the 
Orient. 

Howerth: The Art of Education. 

Kilpatrick: Froebel's Kindergarten Principles 
Critically Examined. 

Miller: Education for the Needs of Life. 



RECREATION FOR TEACHERS 

OR 

THE TEACHER'S LEISURE TIME 



BY 



HENRY S. CURTIS, Ph.D. 

AUTHOR OF " PLAY AND RECREATION IN THE OPEN COUNTRY 
" EDUCATION THROUGH PLAY " 
" THE PRACTICAL CONDUCT OF PLAY " 
AND "THE PLAY MOVEMENT AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE" 



Neto gork 

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
1918 

All rights reserved 



'Cg 



Copyright, 1918, 
By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. 



Set up and electrotyped. Published September, 191 8. 



SEP 2b \m 

Norfoooti Prfss 
J. S. Cushing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. 
,-^Iorwood, Mass., U.S.A. 

©01.4503534 



\ . 






TO 

THE TEACHERS OF AMERICA 

FOR HEALTH, GROWTH, AND 
THE JOY OF LIFE 



PREFACE 

At this moment of history, when we have cast all our 
hopes and ideals into the great conflict on which hangs the 
fate of Democracy, when we are bending every effort to win 
the war and it seems to us that nothing much matters except 
to win the war, it may appear almost disloyal to offer to the 
teachers of the country a book on recreation. Surely this is 
a time for work and not for play. This must be the first 
thought of many. But shall we not say rather that this is a 
time for efficiency ? If play will help us to win the war, let us 
have it, and the fact is that play will help us to win the war. 

The play movement has been officially promoted in Ger- 
many for the last twenty-five years as a war measure. Of 
all our young men who are called to the colors about one 
third are rejected as physically unfit, and of those who are 
accepted fully half the time of training is spent in putting 
them in physical condition. 

We are now spending about ten cents per capita for the 
play of our children, but the Commission on Training Camp 
Activities has raised three dollars per capita, thirty times as 
much, for the recreation of the soldiers in the ranks, and at 
some of the camps at least the soldiers have an hour and a 
half to two hours a day in organized games as a means of 
developing physical efficiency and team spirit. It is necessary 
that those who are coming on to fill the places of those who 

vii 



viii Preface 

have gone to the front shall also have this training. This 
feeling has been reflected in laws passed during the last two 
years in the states of New York, Rhode Island, New Jersey, 
and California, making a requirement of from two to five 
hours per week of play and physical training for all children. 
This has been done primarily as a war measure. 

About half our play problem is with the teachers. If 
they get an enthusiasm for sports and outdoor life, this spirit 
will soon pervade the student body and we shall not have 
so much physical unfitness. Both on the part of the 
teachers and children better health and a more vigorous life 
are now demanded. 

It has been difficult to find a name for this volume which 
will cover the subject matter. In some ways " Leisure Time" 
would be a better title than " Recreation," as practically all 
the teacher's time outside of school hours is planned for. 
But one of the major efforts, also, is to indicate ways in which 
teaching itself may be made more enjoyable, and new elements 
of pleasure brought into work. The purpose has been, in 
general, so to organize the teacher's leisure time that she may 
get from it a larger life, more experience, and the opportunity 
to study and enjoy herself. 

In a perfect adjustment to individual needs, the problem 
of recreation for everyone is an individual problem. Recre- 
ation should furnish to every man and woman relief from the 
monotony and strain of work, and give expression to those 
impulses and desires which have lain dormant in daily life. 
To some extent, therefore, the recreation of each individual 
should differ from that of every other individual, and that of 
each profession from that of every other profession. But, in 
a general view, these differences are largely negligible, and the 



Preface ix 

recreation needed by all professions whose work is indoors is 
much the same. The recreation here outlined is well adapted 
to all adults and to college and high school students, as well 
as to teachers, though perhaps the need is greater among 
teachers than others. 

The feminine gender has been used throughout, because 
more than three-quarters of our teachers are women. But 
some one may say that the recreation recommended is unduly 
strenuous and adventurous for women, and better suited to 
men. Women have often hesitated to do many of the things 
spoken of. But we are on the eve of a new era, ushered in 
by woman suffrage and the world war. It will offer to women 
an equal opportunity for life, occupation and experience. 
Woman is going to demand that she shall not be unnecessarily 
handicapped by her sex, but shall be allowed to do anything 
which she is qualified to do. We are ceasing to regard timid- 
ity either as a virtue or as a feminine attraction. 

All the recreation spoken of can be had without taking a 
single moment from proper working hours, by the better 
organization of the teacher's leisure time. The aim has been 
to emphasize a purpose which will include not merely success 
in school work, but also success as an individual and as a 
member of society. 

There are doubtless some who will think that, if the leisure 
time and play of teachers is made exciting, they will neglect 
their work ; that while they are teaching the multiplication 
table they will be thinking of what they are going to do after 
school. This is a criticism which may be made against any 
form of recreation, and an argument which has often been 
advanced against high school and college athletics. It is al- 
ways a question whether we shall bring our recreation down to 



x Preface 

the level of drudgery, or try to raise our work to the level of 
play. It has been the hope of the author that the recreation 
point of view will help to give teaching itself something of a 
play value. It is certain that health is essential to this, and 
love of children, plus daily recuperation from the labors of 
the day. But, if the teacher finds her work drudgery, she is 
in all the greater need of recuperation when the day is over. 

It has been difficult so to treat the activities described that 
there should not be much repetition, since such exercise as 
walking and canoeing can obviously be taken equally well on 
afternoons, Saturdays, Sundays, or during the summer va- 
cation. In order, however, to avoid repetition as much as 
possible, each of these main activities has been treated some- 
what intensively in one of the chapters, and briefly mentioned 
in the others. By reference to the index, the reader will be 
able to find a complete discussion of any particular type of 
activity in which he may be interested. 

Walking has been dealt with in five or six different chapters, 
and to many it may appear that the prominence which is 
given to it is not justified by its play value. As an academic 
question this would be debatable, but, when it is considered 
that walking is practically the only form of outdoor recreation 
which most teachers take, the reason for its prominence is 
apparent. 

The author wishes to acknowledge, with thanks, the help 
he has received from Superintendent Alvin N. Cody, of Flint, 
Michigan, Superintendent James O. Engleman, of Decatur, 
Illinois, Superintendent John H. Beveridge, of Council Bluffs, 
Iowa, Superintendent Vernon G. Mays, of St. Joseph, Missouri, 
Superintendent M. E. Pearson, of Kansas City, Kansas, and 
Superintendent J. N. Adee, of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. 



Preface xi 

Their assistance in collecting information as to the use made 
of their teachers' leisure time, has been of great assistance. 
His thanks are due also to all those who have generously 
loaned pictures for use in illustrating this volume. 

Henry S. Curtis. 

Olivet, Michigan 
May, 1918. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Why Recreation Is Necessary i 

For health : — nervousness ; tuberculosis. For personal attrac- 
tiveness. For growth. For success. For the enjoyment of life. 

II. Reducing the Strain of Teaching . . ' . . . .14 

Hygienic conditions : — medical inspection. Segregating atypical 
children. Smaller classes. The curriculum. A study of things 
rather than words. More activity. Organized play and athletics. 
Play for the teacher's own sake. School excursions. Scholastic sub- 
jects. Sympathetic supervision. 

III. Factors in the Enjoyment of Teaching 31 

Good health. Work not too hard. Discipline. The love of 
knowledge. The love of children. 

IV. What Sort of Recreation Do Teachers Need? ... 43 

Recreation of 148 teachers of Flint, Michigan. Recreation of 146 
teachers of Decatur, Illinois. Recreation of 68 teachers of Oil City, 
Pa. Recreation of 65 teachers of Keosauqua, Iowa. What is 
fatigue? The rebuilding process. The teacher's special problems: 

— physical ; mental. 

V. After School 61 

Activities of 230 teachers of Kansas City. Activities of 150 
teachers of Johnstown, Pa. Loafing. An avocation : — gardening ; 
the raising of chickens, pigeons, or rabbits ; the teacher as a chauf- 
feur. Outdoor sports : — horseback riding ; bicycling ; driving ; 
walking ; canoeing or rowing ; swimming. Winter sports in the North : 

— skating ; coasting ; skiing and snow-shoeing. Games : — games 
with children; croquet; bowling on the green; tennis. Dinner 
servitude. A list of activities after school : — fall ; winter ; spring. 

xiii 



xiv Table of Contents 

CHAPTER PAGE 

VI. The Teacher's Evenings 87 

Activities of 292 teachers of St. Joseph, Missouri. Work : — 
housework ; teaching ; Scouts, Camp Fires ; and social center. Study. 
Reading. Society : — the teachers' club house ; the social center ; 
the teachers' benefit. Play : — dancing ; theaters and movies ; 
music; fancy work; cards; bowling; volley ball, indoor baseball 
and basket ball ; billiards ; moonlight outings ; the new time. The 
need of a survey and plan. 

VII. Saturday 105 

Activities of 230 teachers of Kansas City, Kansas. Activities of 
150 teachers of Johnstown, Pa. Walking excursions : — when shall 
walks be taken? the educational excursion; other trips. Recre- 
ation programs : — rules of the Mazama Club ; outlines of local 
walks. A county recreation survey. The automobile. The aero- 
plane. Hunting and fishing. List of recreative activities for Satur- 
day afternoon. 

VIII. Sunday 133 

Rest. Worship. Active recreation. Society. Reading. The 
old-time Sabbath. 

IX. The Week-ends and Short Vacations 141 

Week-end travel : — by train ; by trolley ; by boat ; on horse- 
back ; by automobile ; on foot ; a program of week-end walks. The 
night's lodging. The camp fire. The week-end visit. The week- 
end camp. The municipal camp and farm. The teachers' club 
house. Christmas and Easter vacations. 

X. The Teachers' Institute 159 

An institute for the study of the locality. The chautauqua insti- 
tute. The institute program as recreative. Exhibitions. After 
the sessions : — shopping ; a play period ; excursions ; the hospitality 
of the town; social opportunities; the teachers' picnic; a swim; 
the teachers' club. Evening recreation : — the institute reception ; 
moving pictures and theater, a musical program. The calendar of 
the institute. A continuation school for city teachers. 

XL The Summer at Home 178, 

Activities of 85 teachers of Council Bluffs, Iowa. The need of a 
plan. The care of little brothers and sisters. The care of the sick., 



Table of Contents xv 

CHAPTER pACB 

Social life. Reading. Study. Play and the open air. The psy- 
chology and sociology of the hammock. Conclusion. 



XII. Summer Work 

Rest as a change of occupation. Work as a means of education. 
What kind of work? The new point of view. Available occupa- 
tions :— housekeeping ; agriculture; canvassing and insurance; 
waiting; serving as tutor or governess, as director of a summer 
camp or walking trip, as guide, as a playground director. 

XIII. Summer Teaching . 

Comparison of salaries. The summer school. Program of the 

summer school : — scholastic work ; industrial crafts ; art ; music ; 
entertainments ; Boy Scouts and Camp Fire Girls ; organized play 
and athletics; gardening; civic work; nature study trips; visits 
to industrial plants; walking trips; camping out; the school farm. 
Attendance. The old school plants. The solution of the child prob- 
lem. The choice of teachers. 



XIV. Summer Play 

Visiting. Camping out. The summer resort: — at the shore; 
in the mountains. The chautauqua. Travel : — on foot ; by bicy- 
cle ; by motorcycle ; by canoe or motor boat ; by train ; by steam- 
ship ; by automobile. 

XV. Recreation at Summer Schools 

The problem of summer quarters : — a summer chautauqua. Sum- 
mer schools for special subjects : — marine biological laboratories; 
summer schools of art ; schools of surveying ; classes in geology and 
physiography; other traveling summer schools. Recreation now 
being offered at summer schools : — University of Utah; Normal 
School, Emporia, Kansas; Normal School, Kearney, Nebraska; 
excursions at Columbia University, University of Michigan, and 
Harvard. The week-end camp of the University of Colorado ; Agri- 
cultural College, Fort Collins, Colorado ; camping out at the Uni- 
versity of Wisconsin. The program of the summer school. A 
recreation survey. School dormitories. Cooperation among the 
different departments. A director of recreation. A special fee. 
Better use of leisure time. The selection of a summer school. 



187 



197 



21S 



247 



xvi Table of Contents 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XVI. Conclusion 270 

What and when? A larger life. A national walkers' club. A 
director of recreation. The training of the normal school. Teach- 
ing as an ideal profession. Recreation will result in better teaching. 
The solution of three fundamental educational problems. 

Bibliography 283 






RECREATION FOR TEACHERS OR THE 
TEACHER'S LEISURE TIME 



CHAPTER I 
WHY RECREATION IS NECESSARY 

Throughout the centuries man has been dreaming of the 
time when he should be emancipated from continuous toil. 
The labor unions strove for decades to reduce the working 
day from twelve hours to ten, and finally to eight, and every 
new gain has been hailed as a triumph of the spirit which gave 
an opportunity for recreation and education and the family 
life and all of those things that make life worth while. 

The teacher already has this gift of leisure toward which 
the world has so long aspired. She has absolutely ample time 
for recreation; and teaching, with its intimate contact with 
children and its opportunity for service, might well become 
the ideal life towards which the privileged classes would aspire. 
It should keep the teacher in perfect health, should cause her 
to increase up to full maturity in physical strength and vigor 
and in that beauty which comes with health and vitality. 
On the intellectual side, teaching should lead to that fullness 
of knowledge which might warrant a high academic degree. 
From the contact with children which it gives and the training 
involved in organizing social and play activities, it should be 
recognized as a preparation for wifehood and motherhood. 

But leisure, this great and peculiar advantage of the pro- 
fession, is largely wasted, because the teacher has no plan for 
it, and usually takes whatever comes to her in the way of 
recreation. 



2 Recreation for Teachers 

There are five rather obvious reasons for the recreation of 
teachers. They are : that the teacher may maintain her 
health ; that she may be personally attractive ; that she may 
continue to grow mentally ; that she may be successful as a 
teacher; and that she may enjoy life. While recreation 
does not furnish the complete answer to all of the problems 
involved, it is an essential element in all, and to some it may 
be a full solution. 

Health 

We have usually sought to guide into teaching those with 
the highest academic standing. In our training schools we 
have placed the emphasis upon methods and courses in 
psychology, but the teacher's health and social qualities are 
always among the largest elements in her success. 

There have been two noteworthy studies of the teacher's 
health during the last decade. The first of these was by Dr. 
Terman of Leland Stanford University; the second, by Dr. 
Wood of Columbia. While they do not cover exactly the 
same ground, they are in substantial agreement wherever the 
fields investigated coincide. 

Dr. Wood's study was made for the New York State 
Teachers' Association in 191 5. The conclusions are based on 
the replies of 2169 teachers. The number is insufficient, but 
the conclusions seem at least probable. He says : 

"According to teachers' reports in regard to their general state of 
health, 31% are not sufficiently vigorous to meet successfully the con- 
tinuous strain to which teachers are subject, i.e., 21.4% report 'Energy 
sufficient for ordinary work, little resistance to colds or periods of extra 
strain.' As to their general state of health 10% report 'Chronic ill 
health ' or ' Vitality low, inclined to worry over work, daily routine seems 
heavy.' 



Why Recreation is Necessary 3 

u 3°-3% of teachers report their health worse at the time of answering 
the questionnaire than when they began to teach. 

"59-7% of teachers report health disorders during the 5-year period 
preceding 1914-1915. 

"82.8% of teachers report minor health disorders at the time of the 
investigation in 191 5. 45.9% of teachers report nervous disorders, 
either at the time of the investigation in 191 5 or during the 5-year period 
preceding 1914-1915. When answering the question, 'How does your 
health compare with your health when you began teaching ? ' many 
teachers report 'more nervous now' or 'same except for nerves.'" 

Their supervisors hold practically the same opinion in 
regard to these matters as the teachers themselves. 

"Supervisors report that more than a third of their teachers belong 
in one of the following four classes : (1) 'nervous/ (2) 'irritable/ (3) 'low 
in vitality/ (4) 'affected with other handicaps.' 

" 16.3% are classed 'nervous/ 11.4% 'irritable/ 9.2% 'low in vitality/ 
3.4% 'affected with other handicaps' — a total of 40.3%. 

"90% of the causes of this impairment of efficiency is attributed 
by the supervisors to ill health or unhealthful living and teaching con- 
ditions. 

" From consideration of the above reports of teachers and supervisors 
relative to amount of ill health among teachers, the conclusion seems 
warranted that about 30% of teachers are below the standard of physical 
health requisite for those intrusted with the instruction of children." 

Nervousness 

The most characteristic ailment of teachers is "nerves." In 
regard to nervous troubles among teachers, Professor Terman 
quotes from statistics of Steenhoff in Sweden, the following : 1 

Male Elemen- Female Elemen- Female Infant 
tary Teachers tary Teachers School Teachers 

Nervous troubles 32.5% 36% 31-2% 

1 The Teacher's Health. 



4 Recreation for Teachers 

"We are also informed that 2.5% of the active teaching staff of Sweden 
are sufferers from neurasthenia of a ' pronounced mental type,' and that 
nervous disease causes 50% of the absences lasting two years or over. 
The Swedish Tuberculosis Committee had already reported (1906) that 
1.17% of the Swedish female teachers in active service were sufferers 
from tuberculosis." 

In almost exact agreement with these statistics are the 
opinions of the New York teachers in regard to their nervous 
condition. 

"45.9% of all teachers report 'nervous disorders.' The larger per- 
centage of the following groups that report disorders are significant. 

" 59-3% of teachers reporting conditions detrimental to health have 
nervous troubles — 134% more than the percentage of the whole group 
of teachers that report nervous disorders." 

This condition is shown all too often in a strident voice, 
a quick temper, and morbid worry. 

" Under the Superannuated Teachers' Act of England in 1899, almost 
exactly one third of the breakdowns are ascribed to neurasthenia. In 
the city of Amsterdam the records show that leaves of absence were due, 
in thirty four per cent of the cases, to nervous affections." 

Teaching often predisposes to indigestion and constipation, 
caused mostly by worry and a sedentary life. 

Tuberculosis 

Teachers are peculiarly subject to tuberculosis. In Den- 
mark no teacher may be appointed without a special examina- 
tion of her lungs, nor may she be reappointed without re- 
examination. The percentage of teachers afflicted is found 
to increase with their years of service at a rapid rate. While 
the average number of deaths from tuberculosis in this 



Why Recreation is Necessary 5 

country is only about 140 per 1000, the average number of 
female teachers dying of tuberculosis in Canada in each 1000 
is 570, of male teachers 299; in the United States, among 
female teachers, the average number, while it varies in our 
large cities from 272 in New York to 452 in Baltimore, in the 
entire country, including rural teachers and others, is 256. 1 
It is estimated by Terman that from one and a quarter to one 
and a half million children in the United States are taught 
by tubercular teachers. 

Showing the Deaths from Pulmonary Tuberculosis Out of iooo 

Deaths from All Causes 



Printers and pressmen 

Female teachers in schools 

Stonecutters .... 

Dressmakers and seam- 
stresses 

Saloon-keepers and bar- 
tenders 

Policemen, watchmen, and 
detectives .... 

Farmers, planters, over 
seers 

Lawyers 

Physicians and surgeons 

Clergymen .... 



Balti- 


Wash- 
ington, 


New 
York 


Brook- 


Phila- 


Boston 


more 


D.C 


City 


lyn 


delphia 




429 


342 


437 


37o 


377 


430 


452 


395 


272 


336 


441 


477 


432 


333 


398 


423 


261 


496 


396 


386 


385 


350 


405 


388 


213 


30S 


296 


295 


223 


276 


183 


187 


190 


169 


161 


113 


141 


175 


207 


128 


103 


83 


119 


125 


102 


236 


139 


90 


204 


103 


120 


113 


135 


90 


138 


120 


153 


91 


140 


83 



Average 

398 
396 
391 

385 

268 

167 

139 

130 
128 
121 



Apparently the great majority of all cases of tuberculosis 
are contracted during the period of the elementary school. 

1 These figures are taken from Terman's The Teacher's Health. 
Professor Terman gives the following table compiled by Professor Oldright 
of the University of Toronto, from the census returns of the United States. 



6 Recreation for Teachers 

Forty-five per cent of the children in the first grade and 
eighty-five per cent of the children in the eighth grade in 
Baltimore reacted to the tuberculin test, while forty-five 
per cent in the first grade and ninety-three per cent in the 
eighth grade reacted in Chicago. 

This does not necessarily mean, of course, that these children 
have tuberculosis, but merely that the tubercle bacillus has 
found lodgment in their lungs. It was estimated, however, 
by one of our foremost authorities, at the International Con- 
gress on School Hygiene which was held in Buffalo in 19 14, 
that there were then one million tubercular school children in 
the United States, — approximately five out of every one 
hundred children, or one in twenty. Under these circum- 
stances millions of tubercle bacilli must be floating in the 
air of nearly every classroom all the time. 

The children also bring in much dust upon their feet, and 
all class movements stir this into the air. There is much 
chalk dust, which is especially irritating to the lungs, and 
besides this, there are many impurities from the breath and 
bodies of the children. The breathing of air containing im- 
purities of any sort makes the lungs less resistant to tuber- 
culosis, as has been shown in the studies of tuberculosis in 
the dusty trades. 1 

In classrooms where there is no way of humidifying the 
air, it is unnaturally dry. This dry air takes the moisture 
from the lungs and throat and makes them less resistant to 
all forms of germ attack. 

The teacher at her work is using a very small lung capacity, 
and the cells in the lower part of the lungs are almost entirely 

1 See "Tuberculosis in the Dusty Trades" Studies, Department of Com- 
merce and Labor. 





A Greek Pageant at Northwestern University 



Why Recreation is Necessary 7 

unused. It is these unused air cells which are first attacked 
by the tubercle bacillus. 

The answer to this situation is plain. Teaching is a dan- 
gerous occupation for any one with a tubercular tendency. 
Such a person should be deflected into some other profession. 
But if she finds herself in it, her remedy is to live in the open 
air as much as possible and develop her lungs by systematic 
exercise. 

Professor Terman and Dr. Wood are in substantial agree- 
ment as to the solution of this health situation for the teacher. 
They both find that it is necessary for her to go more into the 
open air and to take vigorous exercise every day. 

Personal Attractiveness 

A few years ago there was a series of tests upon the teachers 
attending the summer school at the University of South 
Dakota. It was found that a large percentage of them were 
nervous, and that most of them had less than the normal 
number of red corpuscles in their blood. They were anaemic 
from living indoors. 

A chief motive for the system of physical training of the 
Greeks was personal beauty. There was a feeling that it 
was a moral obligation for every one to bring his body to the 
highest state of perfection and to maintain it there, because 
it added to one's sense of self-respect and personal dignity, 
and because a community made up of beautiful individuals 
was a more attractive community than one made up of ugly 
people. 

Every teacher has a right to be good-looking. There are 
school boards that will pay a handsome teacher considerably 



8 Recreation for Teachers 

more than they will pay a homely teacher. We are accus- 
tomed to criticize such school boards, but there is no 
place in life where a handsome woman cannot obtain more 
than a homely woman can, whether it be as an actress, a 
stenographer, or a saleswoman. It is reasonable that school 
boards should pay more. The handsome woman finds her 
discipline easier on that account, she is much more likely to 
be personally copied by her pupils, and all her lessons are 
taught with the force of a pleasing personality. 

Apart from her clothes, if the teacher is to be as beautiful 
as she may be, she must have perfect health. She must 
maintain an erect posture, have a clear skin, and a bright eye. 
If she will take one or two hours of vigorous exercise in the open 
air every day, in most climates she will get a good complexion. 
If the exercise is the right kind, she will get her head and 
shoulders back, spring in her step, and vivacity of expression. 
She need not be flat-chested. It is as easy to develop lung 
capacity as the biceps. 

Physical training cannot greatly change the outlines of the 
face and figure as laid down by heredity, but it can do enough 
to be worth considering. It is said that the short legs of the 
Japanese are due to their habitual sitting upon the floor and 
the absence in recent years of vigorous athletic sports. Boyer 
found at Annapolis that the height of the naval cadets could 
be increased one and one half inches by systematic exercises 
after the age of eighteen. We have some evidence, also, 
that confining school work actually stunts growth. European 
statistics show that the growth, both in weight and height, of 
seven-year-old children who are in school is less than that of 
the seven-year-old children who are out of school. The 
evidence seems at least to favor strongly the conclusion that 



Why Recreation is Necessary 9 

any person who lives a vigorous athletic life up to the age 
of twenty or twenty-five will be somewhat taller and heavier 
than he would have been had his life been sedentary. 

Most teachers have obtained or nearly obtained their 
growth before they enter teaching, and the exercise which is 
necessary for them is not to increase their height, but to 
maintain their health and improve their figure. Exercise 
has always been regarded as the only rational cure for obesity. 
But it acts as a corrective in both ways, since it reduces the 
flesh of the obese and increases the weight of the lean. 

In regard to grace, or the beauty of movement, the evidence 
is more conclusive. Only where the movements are light and 
rapid and so interesting that they become a real expression 
of the personality does any activity meet the conditions for 
the development of grace. The two activities which best 
satisfy this need are play and dancing. Drudgery and 
overwork always produce awkwardness. 

The Greeks had a saying that a man will remain young 
just as long as he plays. The spirit of play is the spirit of 
childhood. The teacher who has forgotten how to play seems 
old in spirit and is so thoroughly out of sympathy with child 
life that she cannot speak the language in which the child is 
thinking and acting. 

Grover Cleveland used to say that every one should retain 
throughout life an enthusiasm for some kind of sport, because 
this is the only way that one can be a good comrade. Friend- 
ships do not grow largely out of work, but mostly out of play. 
The athlete is nearly always a better companion than the 
grind, and more popular. Every form of recreation suggested 
in this volume will develop companionableness and social 
acceptability. They all intensify friendships. 



io Recreation for Teachers 

No teacher can allow herself to become sick and cross and 
overwearied and still be a good companion. In order that her 
company may be sought for, she must be buoyant, elastic, 
and full of life. Overwork develops a heavy, non-resilient 
attitude of mind, while play brings out those qualities which 
make for companionableness. 

If we should give a close psychological study to any teacher 
of children toward whom she is indifferent or hostile, we should 
find her developing a dictatorial attitude and an antagonistic 
response. If she goes into her classroom to maintain order 
and to teach arithmetic and geography, holding herself 
responsible only for scholastic results, she will get pedagogic 
creases in her character and personality. 

I find it is common for teachers to try to conceal their 
profession when they go among strangers. I heard recently 
of a party of teachers who went down from St. Paul to St. 
Louis. They had agreed that they would not let any one know 
they were teachers, but when they came out of the station 
and started up the street, a small newsboy saluted and said, 
" First reading class stand and recite." 

Growth 

There are many who regard teaching as a sinecure. It is a 
profession with a short working day and week, with many 
holidays, and at least three vacations. There is many a 
business man with a working day of ten or twelve hours and a 
working year of fifty or fifty-two weeks, who longs for such a 
life of leisure and freedom. However, in opposition to this 
opinion we have the fact that the working life of the teacher 
is short, the age of retirement being, in England, fifty-three 



Why Recreation is Necessary n 

for male teachers and fifty for female ; in Saxony, for male 
teachers forty-nine, and in Hesse, fifty-one. School boards 
in many of our cities refuse to employ any new teacher who is 
over forty-five years of age. 1 When we consider that the age 
of greatest achievement, the period during which the great 
men of the world have achieved their greatest triumphs, is the 
decade between fifty and sixty, we must realize that a life 
that calls for the retirement of the teacher at fifty has in 
some way been unduly strenuous or injurious to her best 
growth and development. 2 

This must seem anomalous to those who look upon teaching 
as a sinecure. But those who are most convinced that teach- 
ing is a "snap" are always the ones who have not tried it. 
It has been estimated that the strain of one hour's teaching is 
equal to that of two hours of study. This is probably not an 
overestimate where the class is large, with its average per- 
centage of stupid and incorrigible children. If, then, we 
multiply the hours of our five-hour day by two, we have the 
equivalent of a ten-hour day, with the correction of from six 
to twelve thousand papers per year and the preparation of the 
lessons left over ; which will make the equivalent of a working 
day of eleven or twelve hours. The teacher must have every 
sense alert. She must hear every sound and whisper, she 
must see everything that is going on, she must teach and 
perceive the reaction of thirty or forty children to her teach- 
ing, and at the same time she must maintain discipline and 
please the public, the principal, and the superintendent. 

The teacher's work is not subject to the same standards of 
criticism that are applied elsewhere. The merchant must 

1 Terman : The Teacher's Health, p. 18. 

2 Dorland : The Age of Mental Virility. 



1 2 Recreation for Teachers 

buy and sell so as to make a profit or he will go to the wall. 
The doctor must cure his patient ; the lawyer must win his 
case, and in his plea he has to meet others with training and 
experience equal to his own. The teacher, on the other hand, 
is dealing with immature minds, and her work is subject 
largely to the criticism aid standards of the immature. 

If the lawyer or doctor becomes skillful, his fees will rep- 
resent the appreciation of the public of that fact. But the 
salaries of teachers are largely fixed. An elementary teacher 
in any of our great cities may become the most skillful 
teacher in the United States, and still teach on to the end of 
her days without any acknowledgment in the way of salary 
or recognition for this superiority. The only motive which 
she usually has for success beyond that demanded to hold her 
position is her interest in the welfare of her children. While 
we find Carnegie and many similar men blossoming out at 
sixty-five or seventy into statesmanship which their earlier 
years did not show, the teacher is superannuated long before 
attaining this age. 

While recreation is not the complete answer to these con- 
ditions, it is an essential element in it. The teacher, in order 
to grow, must continue to study; but perhaps her greatest 
difficulty is that her work tends to become routine and causes 
no new mental reaction. To avoid this, she should lay it 
aside completely at frequent intervals, through some absorbing 
recreation, that she may come back to it with a fresh point 
of view. 

Success 

The product asked of the school is becoming more and more 
a social product. We no longer expect that the teacher shall 



Why Recreation is Necessary 13 

teach arithmetic and geography alone. It matters not how 
skillful she may be in her teaching, or how high a percentage 
she may secure in the examinations ; if she is cross and nervous 
and mean-spirited, we shall not be satisfied with the result, 
because we know that the arithmetic and the geography will 
not compensate for the constant model of unlovely qualities 
which has been set before the children. 

School boards would generally refuse to employ a woman 
who is slovenly or dirty in her dress or whose morals are bad, 
or a man who they know drinks. It is also necessary that 
the teacher should be a wholesome physical type, that she 
should love those things that children ought to love, and do 
the things that children ought to do. If we can get a real 
love of the outdoors and its activities instilled into our teach- 
ing force, we shall largely solve the problem of organized 
recreation and of outdoor activities for children. 

The teacher with an enthusiasm for outdoor life will be, 
on that account, a more wholesome model to set before 
children. She will be more popular and more copied. But 
this is not all. Her health and vitality will be a large ele- 
ment in her success in teaching arithmetic and geography and 
every other subject; for without health she cannot have 
enthusiasm or buoyancy or attractive ways. 

Enjoyment of Life 

But in a large way we do not need any reasons for recreation. 
The teacher should do those things which she loves to do 
because it is in such experiences that life itself finds its ful- 
fillment and satisfaction. It is only thus that she can be 
contented and happy. 



CHAPTER II 



REDUCING THE STRAIN OF TEACHING 

For the conditions which have been disclosed, there are 
three possible remedies : the school may be improved so as to 
reduce the strain; the teacher may be better prepared for 
her work, so that she will not find it so difficult ; or there may 
be fuller provision for recreation. There can be no really 
satisfactory solution that does not take into account each of 
these remedies. 

Hygienic Conditions 

In any profession where there are so many breakdowns, 
despite a short day, and so much absence on account of 
sickness there must be something unhygienic in the conditions 
of the work. As the children and the teacher are living and 
working under practically the same conditions, we must 
suspect that a system which breaks down the teacher is also 
a source of strain for the children. There is no possibility of 
providing wholesome conditions for children without also pro- 
viding wholesome conditions for teachers. Anything which 
will aid in the solution of the one problem will aid in the solu- 
tion of the other also. 

It may be remarked that conditions are very much better 
now than they were forty or fifty years ago ; that our school 
buildings have been wonderfully improved ; and that the 
sanitary arrangements now provided were not even dreamed 

14 



Reducing the Strain of Teaching 15 

of at that time. Our curriculum, also, is much more varied, 
and a majority of the subjects are more interesting and are 
better taught than they were a half century ago. This is all 
true ; but we must remember, on the other hand, that fifty 
years ago the large majority of the teachers and children were 
in rural schools which were in session only three or four months 
during the year. With such a short year, and in the country, 
neither teachers nor pupils need suffer under the strain of a 
program which is very poorly adapted to them ; but when we 
lengthen the school term so that it includes nine or ten months 
of the year, it is necessary that the program shall be reasonably 
well adjusted to the nature of the child and the teacher. 
When there is so much discussion of the advisability of 
lengthening the school day, and when the school year may 
soon be eleven or twelve months, it becomes increasingly 
important that the hygienic conditions shall be the best, 
and that the curriculum shall be one which permits a normal 
life. 

During the past education has been mainly a by-product 
of experience. Such education has always been held to be 
practical and effective. The school of the future will also 
offer more opportunities for doing things and having experi- 
ences. 

Medical Inspection 

The children come from homes of every sort, and in many 
there is little attention to hygiene. They are brought together 
in a classroom where the emanations from their bodies and 
the breath from their lungs are mingled with dust from the floor 
and the blackboards. The air is usually overheated, and 
nearly always too dry. There is often an insufficient amount 



1 6 Recreation for Teachers 

of sunlight, and in general the conditions are ideal for the 
multiplication of germs. It is necessary to the teacher's 
health that the children shall be healthy. Five minutes after 
the school has begun, under ordinary conditions of ventilation, 
the teacher is breathing some air which has already passed 
through the lungs of every child in her class. Any one in a 
room where some one is smoking has ample proof of this, for 
it takes only a moment for the exhaled smoke to penetrate 
into every part of the room. 

It is well known that children's diseases, such as diphtheria, 
scarlet fever, whooping cough, measles, mumps, and chicken- 
pox, are spread largely through the school. If the teacher is to 
escape contact with them, it is necessary to see that children 
afflicted with them are kept at home. In order to be really 
safe, she must be able herself to diagnose the contagious diseases. 
It is a wise precaution in the new syllabus of physical training 
in the state of New York which requires the teacher to inspect 
all of her children every morning as to cleanliness, condition 
of their clothes, and any appearance of disease, and requires 
every child to undergo a medical examination each year and 
present a doctor's certificate before his admission to the class- 
room. Inspection of this sort should do much not only to pre- 
serve the health of the children and correct their physical de- 
fects, but also to safeguard the health of teachers. 

There should be medical inspection for the teachers no less 
than the children. In a number of our state universities 
there is a provision whereby the students pay a small fee at 
the beginning of the year and in return receive the attention 
of the school physicians and free hospital service for the entire 
year without further charge. Some such provision should be 
made for the teachers, either with or without a fee, so that 



Reducing the Strain of Teaching 17 

at any time they can go to this doctor for an examination, a 
prescription, or medical attendance. 

It is impossible that any classroom should be a hygienic 
place, if 'the stale breath of the children, with all its odors and 
germs, is to be bottled up and kept at a temperature of seventy 
or more degrees. It is necessary that the air should be fre- 
quently changed and that as much of the school work as is 
consistent with efficiency should be done in the open air. 
Open-air schools have not only shown a great diminution in 
colds and affections of throat and lungs, but they have 
reduced anaemia and increased the scholastic attainment. 
The teacher benefits by these conditions no less than the 
child. In probably one half of the United States the open- 
air school is feasible for almost the entire year, and through- 
out our country it is feasible for at least half of the year. 

The drinking water at the schools is often the source of 
contagion. In country schools there is seldom connection 
of toilets with sewer or septic tank, and often the pump is 
only a short distance away. The common drinking cup is still 
found at many schools. A few years ago a bacteriological 
examination was made of the drinking cups in one of the 
high schools in the District of Columbia. The sediment in 
these cups was found to contain billions of germs of tuberculosis 
and pneumonia. A portion of this injected into two guinea 
pigs resulted in one dying of pneumonia within a couple of 
days, and the other of tuberculosis within a week. The 
bubble fountain is a hygienic necessity for the teacher 
no less than for the child. 

Every school should, of course, have ample toilet and 
washing facilities for the children and the teacher, in the 
interest of both cleanliness and health. Every school should 



l8 Recreation for Teachers 

be provided with paper towels. The common towel is a 
practical means of conveying skin or eye disease. Public 
towels are forbidden on railroad trains and in hotels in nearly 
every state, but they are still found in many schools. The 
common bar of soap is perhaps still more unhygienic, and 
liquid or powdered soap should everywhere be provided. 
The closed toilet seat should be prohibited in all public places, 
for reasons that should be obvious. 

One of the conditions of which very many New York 
teachers complain is the lack of separate toilet facilities. In 
nearly all of our new schools there is a teachers' room, which 
is generally provided with a couch and usually with separate 
toilet and drinking fountain. This provision should be 
universal. 

In some of our newer city schools the teachers are provided 
with a dining room adjoining the domestic economy room. 
They sit down at a table and may have warm soup, and tea 
or coffee, if they like, to go with their lunches. All this they 
prepare at very slight expense, and incidentally have a social 
half hour at least together. In some cases the lunch is served 
at cost by the students of domestic economy. 

The lighting of the school sometimes subjects the teacher 
to severe eye strain. This is true in general where there are 
windows in the back of the room, or where the lighting is 
inadequate. The color of the walls, also, in the long run 
probably has an appreciable effect. The dark colors usually 
make the room too dark. Red is usually regarded as a nervous 
irritant. A light tint of green is an excellent color in most 
cases. 

The schoolroom should be protected from both the noise 
of the street and the noise of other classes. This means, in 



Reducing the Strain of Teaching 19 

most cases, that the school must be placed in a good-sized 
plot of ground. Sometimes the walls and floors, also, should 
be deadened in order to prevent the exercises in one class- 
room from disturbing the others. 

Segregating Atypical Children 

The class method presupposes typical children. Every 
one, however, is aware that children differ much from each 
other. For this presupposition to work out with even tolerable 
success, it is necessary that the children who vary most from 
the standard shall be segregated from the others. This 
means that there must be special schools or classes for dullards, 
for incorrigibles, and for bright children. Pressure has been 
brought to secure these special classes for the dullards and 
the incorrigibles, because no teacher wishes them in her class ; 
but there has not been the same effort to segregate the bright 
children, because every teacher wants their help to bring 
up the average standing. Nevertheless, as Joseph Lee has 
said, the common curriculum for these children is little better 
than an intellectual hobble-skirt. A large percentage of 
them are seriously harmed by having their pace set to that 
of the slower children. Professor Terman, in his Binet- 
Simons tests of the children of Palo Alto, found that practically 
everywhere the bright children were in grades lower than 
their mental ages. These children are apt to be mischief- 
makers when they do not have enough to do. 

Smaller Classes 

Another element of strain for the teacher in many schools 
is the size of the class. The law in Denmark and Scandinavia 



20 Recreation for Teachers 

now fixes the maximum size of classes at thirty-four in the 
cities and forty in the country districts. In many of our 
city systems the new schools are being built with only thirty- 
six seats in a classroom. Not only do large classes impose a 
strain on account of discipline, but the large numbers always 
involve a large number of papers to correct as well as a larger 
number of backward and incorrigible children, and make it 
less easy for the teacher to understand and sympathize with 
individuals. 

The Curriculum 

As I look back on my own childhood, it seems to me that the 
least educational part of it was spent in the rural school. 
We had the three R's, and little else. In reading, we had 
selections from the masterpieces of literature. We learned 
to write, but we were living at home with no one to correspond 
with. We did not write compositions and had little use for 
this accomplishment. We learned to do sums in arithmetic, 
but I have thus far had little use for what we then learned. 
In geography, we learned the names and location of many 
cities, rivers, and mountain ranges, of which most of us had 
never heard, outside of the geography. In history, we 
learned paragraphs by rote which were practically nothing 
but chapter heads. They gave no picture of events, and were 
just about as illuminating and instructive as a page of the 
dictionary. Not more than a third of the words in our spell- 
ing lessons belonged to our vocabulary. The education we 
received was almost entirely out of adjustment with our 
world. 

President Suzzallo has said that we have made more prog- 
ress in education in the last decade than we did in the previous 



Reducing the Strain of Teaching 21 

eighteen centuries. Everything gives promise of still greater 
growth in the future. 



A Study of Things rather than Words 

The old-time school came to us from the Renaissance. It 
was essentially a study of words — grammar and language — 
and what the children got out of it was largely words. Com- 
missioner Claxton says that when he was Superintendent of 
Schools in the city of Asheville, a girl came to him and wanted 
to be admitted to the sixth grade, but she said, " I do not want 
to take geography because I know all about the geography." 
"Well," he said, "where are the Allegheny Mountains?" 
"The Allegheny Mountains are in the eastern part of the 
United States; they extend from northeast to southwest." 
"Did you ever see the Allegheny Mountains?" "Oh, no." 
She was born on the side of Mt. Mitchell, the highest peak in 
the range, while Asheville itself is in the center of the range 
both ways, but she had failed to make the connection between 
the things in the geography and the things outside. Too 
much of our study has been of this type. 

Yet there is little in geography which we cannot find 
illustrated locally. On any hillside or near almost any mud 
puddle, we can find watersheds, watercourses, soil erosion, 
and similar things. We have wagon roads and trolleys 
and railroads over which local products are borne to the 
centers of population. We have people from different states 
and countries. We have a local government with police 
department, fire department, etc. The history of every 
locality is a cross section of the history of the United States, 
and gives a natural interpretation of it. 



22 Recreation for Teachers 

The mathematics which is actually used in any locality — 
the common buying and selling and making of change, the 
calculation of distances, areas, and the like — is easily taught 
and interesting to children. 

The place to begin is nearly always with a study of nature 
and living forms, such as rocks, plants, birds, and animals. 
Little children are interested in almost any story that Nature 
has to tell. 

While it may be interesting to the children in a manufactur- 
ing town in Massachusetts to know of the wheat fields of the 
Northwest, it is more practical for the children of Waltham to 
know how watches are made. Yet children often grow up 
with little knowledge of the productions or industries of their 
own locality. This is not so largely true abroad. 

The information which children collect from observation 
of the world and its activities around them is quite as signifi- 
cant as anything which grown people observe. Children 
from six to ten years of age are generally very well informed 
about everything that is going on in the neighborhood and 
have a pretty accurate idea of its significance. How foolish, 
then, does it seem to see one of these children reading, "Does 
the ox like hay? Yes, the ox likes hay. The ox is in the 
stall," etc. 

More Activity 

As the most common affection of teachers is nervousness, 
so the relief which is most needed is relief to the nerves. 
School conditions are very unnatural so far as the child is 
concerned. He naturally spends nearly all his energy in 
physical activity. He has few inhibitions and wishes to talk 
about anything which interests him. His interests are pri- 



Reducing the Strain of Teaching 23 

marily in doing things. It is this requirement of inactivity 
which places the greatest strain upon the teacher. 

To-day gardening is being introduced or has been introduced 
into most of our larger school systems. There are two phases 
of this work. One is the raising of flowers and the beautifying 
of the grounds of the schools and private yards. To the child 
the flower is a message from Nature's heart. He often talks 
to it and kisses it as though it were another little child. The 
love of beauty comes naturally to him. 

Then, there is the raising of vegetables. Agriculture is 
one of the oldest occupations ; it is still by far the largest. 
It makes the child acquainted at first hand with our chief 
foods, or at least some of them. It gives reasonably good 
exercise in the open air. It furnishes employment for idle 
hours and idle hands during the summer months and makes 
it possible for the village and the city boy to do actual work. 
Under intensive cultivation a garden fifty by one hundred 
feet in size will furnish to a small family vegetables of a better 
quality than would otherwise be secured. Just now this 
phase of gardening is a patriotic duty. 

The modern school contains many forms of hand work which 
were once common activities of the race, but which lapsed 
with the advent of the factory system and the division of 
labor. These include drawing and painting, weaving, raffia, 
basketry, clay modeling, and pottery. As school occupations, 
these allow considerable freedom of conversation and move- 
ment. 

It is scarcely necessary to defend manual training and do- 
mestic economy. They are part of our pedagogic doctrine; 
they are being rapidly introduced into our schools, and we 
can be reasonably certain that they will soon be given to all 



24 Recreation for Teachers 

children. In them, also, there is natural interest, more 
freedom of conversation and motion, and little strain for 
either the teacher or the child. 

We have neglected music, but a new era is upon us. There 
is now a supervisor of music in most of our larger school sys- 
tems ; there are many fine choruses in high schools and elemen- 
tary schools and many good school bands and orchestras. 
We are beginning to credit private music lessons at school. 
Through the greatly improved victrolas and phonographs, 
it is possible to acquaint children with the great music of all 
time. Music is adding a new element of interest and relief. 

Nearly all of our new high schools have a stereopticon, 
and a considerable proportion of them have also a moving pic- 
ture machine. It seems likely that in time most of our 
schools will be so equipped, and that much of the instruction 
in geography, history, and science will be given in this way. 
Such instruction may well cut one or two years from the time 
of the elementary school, and considerable strain from the 
teacher's day. 

The little child is a natural actor. He wishes to impersonate 
most of the people he sees and to dramatize all the interesting 
events. When the circus comes to town, he usually plays cir- 
cus for the next month or so. Every one is familiar with the 
constant tea parties, doctor's visits, and the like, which appear 
on the child's little stage. We have often made acting dim- 
cult and uninteresting to children by requiring them to learn 
set words, but they are under no such necessity. A group of 
children, after hearing an interesting story, like Jack and the 
Beanstalk, or Cinderella, once read or told, are often quite 
ready to dramatize it. They feel no embarrassment because 
they do not remember the words. Acting makes the story 



Reducing the Strain of Teaching 25 

more vivid and real, and such stories are seldom forgotten. 
Dramatics and dramatic readers are being used more and 
more. 

Organized Play and Athletics 

The school of the future will have more and more organized 
physical activity. In Germany, for several decades, three 
hours of play and physical training have been required in 
the weekly program of all elementary schools. In 191 5, the 
state of Illinois passed a law requiring one hour a week. 
In 191 6, the state of New York passed a law requiring two 
hours and forty minutes a week, afterwards increased to 
five hours and forty minutes. In 1917, the state of California 
passed a law requiring two hours a week. The schools of 
Gary have long required from five to twelve hours a week of 
play and physical training, according to the grade of the 
children. And the program of the English preparatory and 
public schools, for several decades, has included about twelve 
hours a week. 

Swimming will soon be on the program of many of our ele- 
mentary schools. No one is allowed to graduate from a 
number of our universities without learning to swim. In 
Boston, swimming is required for high school graduation, 
and in some cities it is required in the elementary schools. 
The great difficulty in the past has been that there have been 
no adequate facilities, but most of our new high schools and 
many of our new elementary schools have swimming pools 
either built or planned. In London, for twenty-five years or 
more, the children have been taught to swim in the public 
swimming pools by their regular teachers. 

Such a school should offer to children and teachers a fairly 



26 Recreation for Teachers 

normal life. But we must also have a normal hygienic 
length of school periods and a better organization of the 
intermissions. In studies of the fatigue of school children, 
the aesthesiometer has shown that fatigue increases rapidly 
after a period of about forty-five minutes, as do also mistakes 
in arithmetic and other subjects. By law in Prussia, a forty- 
five minute class period must be followed by a fifteen-minute 
recess. However, in many cities like Berlin and Dresden, 
the work period is only thirty minutes for the first three 
grades. Professor Leo Bergstein of Vienna, perhaps the fore- 
most authority in school hygiene, has said for many years 
that forty-five minutes should be the maximum for an ele- 
mentary school period. Dr. Koch, the great authority on 
tuberculosis, in his address at the International School 
Hygiene Congress at Buffalo in 1914, said that forty-five 
minutes should be the utmost limit of a school period. Most 
of our prominent hygienists in this country have long said 
the same. In our high schools, normal schools, and colleges, 
the periods are mostly forty or fifty minutes in length. We 
realize that these older persons have far greater powers of 
inhibition than little children. Nevertheless, there are many 
schools where there are no school intermissions except the one 
at noon, and in the great majority there is only one fifteen- 
minute recess in the forenoon and in the afternoon. This 
usually means that even little children have periods of ninety 
minutes, which is just double the legal maximum in Germany. 
It is necessary to the welfare of both the teacher and the 
children that at the end of each thirty or forty-five minute 
period they should go out into the open, fill up their lungs 
with air that has not been breathed before, and throw off the 
strain of enforced physical inactivity. 



Reducing the Strain of Teaching 27 

Where there is shop work, cooking and regular periods in the 
gymnasium or on the playground, it would be desirable, prob- 
ably, to lengthen the period and possibly also to shorten in such 
cases the corresponding play periods. This would allow the 
children to have their intermissions at different times, and the 
playground might be in use practically all the time without 
being overcrowded. 

Play for the Teacher's Own Sake 

Teachers as a body should resist any tendency to place the 
general organization of play, especially at recess times, under 
physical directors. The qualities which are most essential in 
play leadership are a love of play, sympathy with and under- 
standing of children, and ability to become one of a group. 
The teacher who can play with her children in this spirit 
should find the recess no less relief than they. 

Every teacher should have some preparation along the 
line of play in the normal school, both in learning the games 
and in the study of play as the dominant motive in child life 
and education. There is almost no other way in which she 
can get that intimate touch with children which results in a 
sympathetic understanding of their motives. Since the 
teacher needs play no less than the child, the directing of the 
play of her own children offers the easiest possible solution 
both of the problem of organized play for the child and that 
of recreation and fresh air for the teacher. 

School Excursions 

For nearly half a century they have been taking the children 
in Germany on excursions to visit the shops, factories, public 



28 Recreation for Teachers 

buildings, and other places of interest in the locality ; there 
are also trips which take the children into distant provinces 
and sometimes require three or four weeks. Such walking 
trips are now being organized under the Boy Scouts and the 
Camp Fire Girls, and in connection with nearly all of our larger 
playground associations ; and more and more they are getting 
into the schools. We may confidently expect a great advance 
in this direction in the next decade. 



Scholastic Subjects 

While these new subjects will occupy a considerable space 
in the school of the future, they will not crowd out the three 
R's. On the contrary, it seems likely that these subjects 
will be more completely mastered than in the school that was 
devoted exclusively to them. 

The ordinary school requires all children to make the same 
progress in all subjects. But Dr. Burke, of the Normal School 
at San Francisco, has found that some children, pursuing 
their own pace under the method of individual instruction, 
will often cover the half year of ninety-five days in arithmetic 
in nine or ten days, while others may take as many as one 
hundred fifteen or one hundred twenty days for the work, 
and the same is true in every subject. Dr. Burke says that 
under his method, where children are allowed to follow their 
natural rate of progress, no children fail to make their grades, 
and there has not been a case of discipline in the school of six 
hundred in more than a year. All of the teachers say that 
this modified Montessori method, which omits the class reci- 
tation and seeks to stimulate and assist children individually, 
relieves the teacher of most of the strain of the schoolroom.. 



Reducing the Strain of Teaching 29 

While I hold no brief for the Montessori method, I am con- 
vinced that the school of the future will give greater freedom 
of motion, will offer a greater opportunity for individual 
variation, and will be much more like life than has been the 
school of the past. These features of the Montessori schools, 
at any rate, we may well utilize as far as possible. 

Sympathetic Supervision 

The teacher must be reasonably free to follow her own 
methods so long as she gets results. For the superintendent 
or principal to prescribe the details of teaching is little less 
than a crime. 

So, also, if the teacher feels that the powers above are 
seeking to find fault and that she always has adverse criticism 
to fear, it may take most of the pleasure out of her work. The 
teacher is in danger of going to sleep ; she needs stimulus ; 
but she must always feel that the criticism which she receives 
is sympathetic, and that the superintendent is interested 
in her welfare no less than in the welfare of her children. 

"But man, proud man, dressed in a little brief authority, 
Plays such fantastic tricks before high Heaven, 
As make the angels weep." Shakespeare. 

On this point Dr. Wood says, "9.5% of the school condi- 
tions reported by supervisors as most detrimental to the health 
and general welfare of teachers are classed under ' apprehension 
of teachers ' — ' fear of supervisors or of criticism ; unpleasant 
relations between teachers and superior officers ' ; i uncertain 
tenure'; ' single trustee as hiring official/ etc." 1 

1 " Report of New York Commission on Health of Teachers." 



30 Recreation for Teachers 

The picture of the future which has been given is not a mere 
dream. All the lines of activity which have been mentioned 
are being rapidly introduced in our different cities and towns. 
This new school will be a much better place, both for the 
children and the teacher, than was the school of old. It will 
allow considerable physical activity, and much more con- 
versation and social life among the children. The study of 
real things will develop spontaneous interests. So far as 
the teacher takes part in these activities and mingles in a 
more social way with her children, the new school should 
relieve her of most of the strain under which she has hereto- 
fore worked. 



CHAPTER III 
FACTORS IN THE ENJOYMENT OF TEACHING 

If a fortune were left to every teacher in the United States 
to-night, how many of them would appear on time at their 
schools to-morrow morning ? How many would apply for 
their positions again next year? I suspect that the pro- 
portion would not be large. If, on the other hand, a fortune 
were left to each of the clergymen, the lawyers, or the doctors, 
a much smaller proportion would probably give up their work. 

Such a condition indicates either that the school is not 
adjusted to the teacher, or that the teacher is not adjusted 
to the school. We have already indicated some of the changes 
in the school which are necessary if teaching is to be a really 
enjoyable profession. In this chapter we are to consider the 
changes which are necessary in the teacher. 

There are many in the teaching profession who should 
never have become teachers. A person may pass a very good 
examination in the common subjects and still be poorly fitted. 
People with tubercular or nervous tendencies should avoid 
teaching, as should unsocial people who do not like children. 

But probably the chief subjective reason for teachers' 
failure to enjoy their profession is that they have been in- 
adequately prepared. They have not really mastered the sub- 
jects which they are teaching and they have had no adequate 
training or experience in methods which would help them to 

31 



32 Recreation for Teachers 

do their work easily. We have here the question of vocational 
guidance and vocational training. This is fundamental to 
the problem which we have in hand, because the teacher's 
need of recreation grows out of hard school conditions and 
her own inadequacies. So far as her work is her play, recrea- 
tion becomes less necessary. 

One of the most determining factors in happiness is 
temperament. There are those whom nothing depresses, 
whose spirits bubble over on nearly all occasions, whose 
buoyancy always magnifies pleasures and discounts pains, 
until all life is bathed in sunlight ; there are others whose 
sky is always overcast. 

When we wake up in the middle of the night, it often seems 
as though our prospects were as dark as our chamber, but 
these forebodings are usually dispelled by the morning. At 
times when we are dyspeptic or bilious or when things go 
wrong, the whole horizon seems dark. There are people 
whose temperament is such that the future always seems 
gloomy. In our lives from day to day there are pleasures 
and also pains. If we dwell on the pleasures and overlook 
the pains, life seems pleasant ; if we put the emphasis on the 
pains and forget the pleasures, life seems very wretched. 
This is just the difference between the pessimist and the 
optimist — the optimist gives his attention to the pleasures, 
while the pessimist dwells upon the pains. We must learn 
to disregard the things that are unpleasant. If a tooth begins 
to ache, and we think about it, the pain will soon become 
intense ; but if we read an exciting novel or go to a picture 
show, we may forget the tooth. When we get up on a winter's 
morning in a cold room, if we think of how cold we are, 
we are very uncomfortable ; but if we think only of getting 



Factors in the Enjoyment of Teaching 33 

dressed and getting down to breakfast, we scarcely notice 
the cold. 

We all see life through blue glasses at times, and there are 
some of us who always see the future in this way. We 
probably all know people who would be perfectly sure that 
a certain venture were coming out wrong, if the chances were 
even ; and there are certain times when all of us are thus 
minded. We must learn to discount our conclusions by our 
own personal equation. If we are in a despondent mood, 
we must add twenty-five to fifty per cent to our hopes of 
success. If we are of a melancholy temperament, we must 
always add twenty-five to fifty per cent of sunshine to make 
our expectations match the probabilities. It is difficult to 
learn to discount our personality in this way, but it can be 
done, and for many it is essential to happiness. 

The belief that disaster is impending always tends to pro- 
duce it. If the teacher believes that she is going to lose her 
position and goes before her principal and superintendent 
and the school board in the attitude of mind which this belief 
will engender, the expected will probably happen. Moreover, 
this anticipation of coming evil makes any person a dis- 
agreeable companion. 

There is little difference between play and work except in 
the spirit in which it is done. The little boy builds his play- 
house in the yard, and Michael Angelo builds St. Peter's. 
The child draws on the sidewalk, and Raphael paints a 
Sistine Madonna, and there is no less of joy in the achievement 
of the artist than there was in the play of the child. The 
little girl plays with her doll, and if it squeaks and can say 
"Mamma," she thinks it a wonderful doll. But the baby 
laughs and cries, and every day he has a new word, a new 



34 Recreation for Teachers 

action. The baby is the most wonderful piece of play ap- 
paratus that ever came from the hands of the Almighty. 
We are accustomed to think of the mother as working when 
she is caring for her baby, but in fact the mother with a little 
child is the most perfect picture of play that there is any- 
where in the world. We all as children used to play at 
teaching school. If we can carry this same spirit into our ac- 
tual teaching, we shall be much more successful than we can 
be under any other conditions. We have been accustomed to 
say that the preacher is called to preach, though we have not 
usually said that the teacher is called to teach. But exactly 
the same call comes to the teacher and the preacher alike: 
the call of joy in their work. No person ever did a great 
piece of work anywhere and found that work drudgery, for it 
is the joy which we have in our work that leads to success. If 
the teacher does not and cannot find pleasure in teaching, she 
had better give it up, for it is quite certain that she will never 
be successful in it, that she will be wronging herself and her 
children as long as she continues to teach. If a man were 
a savings bank, he might be rewarded in money for his work, 
but just so far as he is a spiritual being, he can be paid only 
in spiritual values. If his soul finds no reward in the work 
itself, his life will be wasted, no matter what his gains. The 
teacher must seek for her deepest satisfaction in her teaching. 
Every one degenerates under drudgery. There is no possi- 
bility of a satisfying life unless one finds in his work something 
of enjoyment. 

" Write it upon thy heart," said Emerson, " to-day is the best 
day in all the year." If our lives are to be worth while, it will 
be because the individual days have been worth while ; for " our 
to-days and yesterdays are the blocks with which we build." 



Factors in the Enjoyment of Teaching 33 

To a very considerable extent the question whether we shall 
find our work play or drudgery is a matter of suggestion. 
We all remember the case of Tom Sawyer and the fence he 
had to paint. He told the boys there is nothing quite so 
delightful as to paint a fence, and they gave him their tops 
and mouth organs and jew's-harps for the privilege of painting 
the fence. But if, on the other hand, he had told them there 
is nothing quite so disagreeable as painting a fence, he probably 
would have had to pay them as much as they were glad to 
pay him. Whether or not the teacher is to enjoy the painting 
of her fence depends largely upon her mental attitude. 

There are five subjective conditions which are essential 
to the enjoyment of teaching. These are : that the teacher 
shall have good health; that she shall not work too hard; 
that she shall be a good disciplinarian; that she shall love 
knowledge ; and that she shall love children. 

Good Health 

No person can find work pleasant when he is full of aches 
and pains and lassitude, when everything done is the result 
of a conscious effort. The teacher must have some reserves 
of energy for what she has to do. 

Work Not Too Hard 

Teachers are very conscientious as a rule and ofttimes very 
ambitious. I have known women to teach day school and 
night school, keep house, carry on special courses on Saturday 
morning, and attend summer school. No boy would want 
to play even baseball for ten or fifteen hours a day. If it 
came to that, baseball would become drudgery. All kinds 



36 Recreation for Teachers 

of play become work if carried on for too long hours and with 
too great effort, and all kinds of work become drudgery under 
exactly the same conditions. The teacher who would enjoy 
her work must not be continually overworking. But over- 
work is often a question of the amount of preparation which 
one has had. An adequate preparation and experience may 
make work light which otherwise would be a serious strain. 

Discipline 

It is usually the discipline of the schoolroom that imposes 
the greatest strain. No teacher can enjoy her work unless 
she is a fairly good disciplinarian. Otherwise an undue 
amount of her energy will be given to the discipline, and fric- 
tion with the children will almost inevitably result. 

The Love of Knowledge 

If the teacher is to love to teach, she must possess the 
knowledge that she is to impart, and she must also have a 
vital interest in it. If we set the teacher whose preparation 
has been in mathematics to teaching French, or assign the 
French teacher to mathematics, the work is likely to be 
drudgery to both. We know how devoted Agassiz was to 
science. He often forgot his meals and "did not have time 
to make money." Such a love of knowledge is practically 
always a love of some particular branch of knowledge. It is 
doubtful if there can be any love of knowledge in general. 
There may be a love of history, but it must be a history that 
portrays real life vividly. There may be a love of botany, 
but it is not possible to develop it from a description of flowers. 
The same principle applies to most forms of knowledge. 



Factors in the Enjoyment of Teaching 37 

Textbooks are useful as guides, but if we make them the sole 
subjects of our study, the knowledge gained is usually dead. 

Children of four or five are intensely interested in every- 
thing that has to do with the natural world. Their questions 
cover almost the entire range of knowledge. But these same 
children in high school are often almost entirely indifferent. 
Their very desire to know seems to be dead. 

We have given them abstract ideas rather than facts. We 
have taught geography out of a book, without becoming ac- 
quainted with the concrete geography of our own neighbor- 
hood. We have begun with abstract numbers in arithmetic 
and disregarded the problems of the child's daily life. We 
cannot make knowledge attractive in this way. But the 
teacher who takes children to visit factories and industries 
and stores, who studies birds and flowers and rocks in the 
neighboring fields, who brings to light the early history of the 
locality, will have a new invigorating contact with actual 
things which will keep her mind alive and growing. Such 
contact will almost inevitably lead to further study and to a 
new love of knowledge. The information it yields will also 
be a valuable social and business asset to her. 



The Love of Children 

Teaching is fundamentally an expression of the parental 
instinct. It has grown out of an interest in the child and a 
hope for his future. The love of children is the most neces- 
sary characteristic of the teacher who really loves her work. 
Ideally, she should see her teaching as a task placed in her 
hands by the Master, and look into the eyes of her children 
with hope and aspiration for their future, realizing that their 



38 Recreation for Teachers 

success and happiness will be largely determined by the spirit 
and efficiency of her work. The great teachers have nearly 
all been of this type. 

Every soul demands a sympathetic environment for its 
unfolding. There are few experiences which are more en- 
nobling than motherhood. Many of us have seen a superficial 
and trifling young woman turned into a responsible and capable 
matron by this experience. It brings to the feminine nature 
that one experience to which all its deeper aspirations respond, 
and out of which the finest qualities of the human mind and 
spirit come. We do not always find that teaching is equally 
ennobling. 

It is essential to any sort of educational success that there 
be an atmosphere of sympathy between pupil and teacher. 
Children will not learn even arithmetic from a teacher whom 
they do not like, and when it comes to those more subtle ele- 
ments of training which involve habit and character, an un- 
popular teacher is apt to be a negative force. 

Every day that the teacher spends surrounded by feelings 
of indifference or dislike will produce a crop of unamiable 
traits and responses in her own character. She will all un- 
consciously become less pleasant in her ways, less courteous, 
and less considerate, and even the lines of her face will grow 
hard and disagreeable. In mere self-protection, she must in 
some way manage to like her children and be liked by them. 
Recently I heard of a teacher who, in speaking of her children, 
said she " just hated the little brats." I am sure that neither 
this teacher nor her children enjoy the school. No teacher 
can afford to teach such a class, and no parents should allow 
their children to remain in such a class. 

However, love is much like the wind that "bloweth 



Factors in the Enjoyment of Teaching 39 

whither it listeth." We cannot love or abstain from loving 
at our own behest. Is it possible for this spirit to be developed 
in the teacher ? This is perhaps the greatest mission of child 
study. We fail to love people because we do not understand 
them. If we can really enter into the nature of any one and 
understand his motives and desires, we almost always sym- 
pathize with him. If any one is skeptical, let him consider 
how easily we sympathize with the heroes of stories. The 
teacher who will study her children and their home life, es- 
pecially if she will play with them, will almost inevitably come 
to love them. The child in the typical classroom is a caged 
animal. It is only when the teacher gets out on the play- 
ground that she sees the real and lovable child. Sympathy 
and kindliness grow only in a spirit of cooperation. They 
can be developed only where the teacher and the children 
do many things together. 

Teaching is usually only a temporary occupation. The 
teacher is soon married and a mother. Experience in teaching 
should be an excellent preparation, both physically and spirit- 
ually, for motherhood. The teacher who takes part in the 
games and physical exercises of the playground should be- 
come strong and well. The teacher who learns to under- 
stand and love children will have gained the best possible 
preparation to care for children of her own. The most 
important period in the life of every child is the period be- 
fore the beginning of school, and here the mother is his only 
teacher. 

But, some superintendent is sure to say, the purpose of the 
schools is not to enable the teachers to have a good time. 
Whether they enjoy their work or not is of minor importance ; 
their efficiency is the important thing. There is something 



40 Recreation for Teachers 

fundamentally wrong in the constitution of the world and the 
profession if the things that are essential to the enjoyment 
of teaching are different from the things that are essential to 
efficiency. It is not possible for the teacher to put forth her 
best efforts unless she enjoys her work. All of the suggestions 
which have been offered for making the teacher's work more 
pleasant will help also to make it more efficient. 

Now some teacher is probably thinking, "My enjoyment 
of teaching is not dependent chiefly on the things enumerated. 
If I am to enjoy my work, I must have a secure position; 
I must be thoroughly prepared in the subjects that I am to 
teach; and I must be sure that the principal, the super- 
intendent, and the parents approve of me and my work. 
It is necessary that the children should like me, but I do not 
see that it is necessary for me to like them." 

This is a common point of view, but all of these conditions 
are mere reflections of the teacher's own attitude. They 
represent, in the main, things with which she is not directly 
concerned. It is not her duty to be respected, but to be worthy 
of respect ; not to be loved, but to love. If the sun but shines, 
the moon will give back the reflection. 

No one can allow herself to become anaemic and nervous 
and fretful by neglecting her health, and be a proper teacher 
of little children. If it comes to a question of our placing 
in the schoolroom a wholesome, joyous personality with com- 
paratively little pedagogy, or an anaemic, dyspeptic, cross 
Ph.D. with all the pedagogy in the world, most of us would 
choose the former teacher. The most important thing that 
the teacher takes into her classroom is herself. Let us hope 
that our children may be taught by one who, in addition to a 
full professional training, has also the grace and the vigor 



Factors in the Enjoyment of Teaching 41 

of a wholesome personality. Such a teacher is a joy to see 
and a joy to recite to, and only such a teacher may go on to 
old age, ennobled by her work, finding it ever a joy and a 
means to a larger life. 

If, then, we have a schoolroom which is beautiful, well 
lighted, heated, and ventilated, with proper drinking water 
and toilet facilities, where health conditions are properly 
supervised, where school periods are not too long, and where 
there is an abundance of organized play, domestic economy, 
manual training, gardening, excursions, and the like, and 
if the teacher also has good health, is not overworked, has 
sympathetic supervision, is a good disciplinarian, is adequately 
trained, and has a love of knowledge and a love of children, 
she may find nearly all the recreation she needs in her work 
itself, and may go on to old age growing more attractive 
and wholesome from day to day and year to year. But, for 
every one of these conditions that is lacking, some compen- 
satory recreation will be necessary. If the schoolroom is 
poorly ventilated, if the classes are too large, if the periods 
are too long, if the children must be kept constantly inactive 
physically, if the teacher's health is poor or her work is too 
hard, if she is a poor disciplinarian, if she does not love the 
subjects or the children which she teaches, recreation will be 
necessary in order to throw off the strain caused by each of 
these deficiencies and to normalize her health. 

One of the greatest compliments I ever received came to 
me as the director of a playground on the East Side in New 
York City. From the beginning of the day to near its end, 
I had been organizing one game after another for four or five 
hundred children. At about four o'clock a small boy came 
to me and said, "Teacher, isn't it funny ; you come here and 



42 Recreation for Teachers 

play all day long and have a good time and then you get paid 
for it." I believe a successful lawyer or doctor or clergyman 
finds the work of his mature years no less interesting than the 
baseball of his boyhood. May we not hope that this will 
some day be true also of teachers ? 



CHAPTER IV 
WHAT SORT OF RECREATION DO TEACHERS NEED? 

Play is the result of the instinct or tendency to pursue 
the activities of our forefathers. These activities are con- 
ventionalized at present in the form of games. They serve 
in a general way to educate the individual in the activities 
of the race. Recreation, on the other hand, does not have 
this serious purpose, but is intended, as the name signifies, to 
re-create wasted or fatigued powers. Teachers need both 
play and recreation. Most of them come to their profes- 
sion under-developed physically and without adequate reserve 
force. It is therefore not enough merely to replenish, from 
week to week, their used-up energies. 

The following statistics were gathered from responses to 
the simple question — "What do you do for recreation in 
the fall? winter? spring?" No names were signed. Al- 
though the numbers are not large, there is such close agree- 
ment between them that it seems likely that they are reliable 
and typical. 

It will be noticed that in all these tables there is almost no 
evidence of cooperative recreation or of activities that are 
planned. Evidently the teachers are taking just what comes 
along. It is equally evident that the activities selected are 
poorly suited to their needs. Thus, while nearly one hundred 
per cent of all teachers should play some vigorous games 

43 



44 



Recreation for Teachers 



Recreation of 148 Teachers of Flint, Michigan 
fancy work 

Fall Winter Spring 

Sewing 33 38 17 

Crocheting 22 34 17 

Tatting 1 2 1 

China painting 2 o o 

Totals 58 74 35 

SOCIAL RECREATION 

Visiting 22 30 16 

Cards 5 H 5 

Billiards o 2 o 

Dancing ££ 35^ 13 

Totals 38 81 34 

PASSIVE RECREATION 

Reading 95 100 84 

Lectures 15 37 n 

Concerts 9 27 o 

Music 26 19 17 

Movies 40 60 37 

Theater 10 22 8 

Entertainments 15 12 n 

Totals 210 277 168 

DRIVING 

Riding 23 o 5 

Driving 4 o 10 

Motoring 21 o 17 

Sleighing __o 4^ _o 

Totals 48 4 32 



Totals 

88 

73 

4 

2 

167 



68 

24 

2 

59 

153 



279 

63 
36 

62 

137 
40 

J* 
655 



28 
14 
38 

_4 
84 



What Sort of Recreation do Teachers Need? 45 



Recreation of 148 Teachers of Flint, Michigan — Continued 

EXCURSIONS 

Fall Winter Spring Totals 

Nutting 1 o o 1 

Picnics 1 o 8 9 

Nature study 1 o 8 9 

Trips £ 4 2 7 

Totals 4 4 18 26 

AVOCATIONS 

Gardening 2 o 14 16 . 

Housework 8 5 4 17 

Totals 10 5 18 33 

SPORTS 

Canoeing 1 o 8 9 

Horseback riding 4 o o 4 

Roller skating 2 2 1 5 

Skating o 28 o 28 

Coasting o 6 o 6 

Swimming o o 2 2 

Fishing o o 2 2 

Camping o o 2 2 

Ice boating o 1 o 1 

Walking 106 43 91 240 

Totals 113 80 106 299 

GAMES 

Bowling o 2 o 2 

Football 5 o o 5 

Baseball o o 4 4 

Basket ball o 8 o 8 

Tennis 7 o 23 30 

Games 1 2 o 3 

Totals 13 12 27 52 



46 



Recreation for Teachers 



Recreation of 146 Teachers of Decatur, Illinois 
fancy work 

Fall Winter Spring Totals 

Fancy work 10 26 7 43 

SOCIAL RECREATION 

Visiting 11 11 6 28 

Cards 8 18 6 32 

Parties o 2 o 2 

Clubs 3 3 4 10 

Dancing 8 19 7 34 

Totals 30 53 2 3 IQ 6 

PASSIVE RECREATION 

Reading 72 79 57 208 

Lectures 4 3 2 9 

Music 15 16 12 43 

Movies 34 38 21 93 

Theater 21 ^$ 13 67 

Entertainments 4 9 5 18 

Totals 150 178 no 438 

DRIVING 

Driving 27 6 26 59 

AVOCATIONS 

Sewing 10 13 7 30 

Gardening 5 o 15 20 

Housework 8 7 7 22 

Church 5 6 4 15 

Sleep _3 _^ _3 _£ 

Totals 31 29 36 96 



What Sort of Recreation do Teachers Need? 47 
Recreation of 146 Teachers of Decatur, Illinois — Continued 

SPORTS 

Fall Winter Spring Totals 

Canoeing 3 o 3 6 

Horseback riding 1 o o 1 

Skating o 20 o 20 

Coasting o 2 o 2 

Swimming 2 1 7 10 

Camping 1 o o 1 

Track work o o 2 2 

Bicycling 1 o o 1 

Coaching 6 6 6 18 

Kodaking 1 o 2 3 

Rowing o o 3 3 

Military o o 3 3 

Walking 93 70 85 248 

Totals 108 99 in 318 

GAMES 

Golf 9 o 7 16 

Tennis 29 o 41 70 

Games 9 4 10 23 

Totals 47 4 58 109 

Recreation of 68 Teachers of Oil City, Pennsylvania 

fancy work 

Sewing 3 

Crocheting 9 

Tatting „ . . 4 

Embroidering _S_ 

21 

SOCIAL RECREATION 

Visiting 4 

Cards 8 

Dancing 5 

Literary club _4 

21 



48 Recreation for Teachers 

Recreation of 68 Teachers of Oil City, Pennsylvania — Continued 

PASSIVE RECREATION 

Reading 31 

Music 6 

Movies 15 

Theater 1 

53 

DRIVING 

Driving 7 

EXCURSIONS 

Bird study 3 

Trips 2 

5 

AVOCATIONS 

Gardening 1 

Raising flowers 2 

Caring for lawn 1 

Raising chickens 2 

Herding sheep 1 

Housework 10 

SPORTS 

Canoeing 4 

Horseback riding 1 

Coasting 2 

Swimming 4 

Camping 1 

Hunting 2 

Kodaking 1 

Walking 33 

48 



What Sort of Recreation do Teachers Need? 49 
Recreation of 68 Teachers of Oil City, Pennsylvania — Continued 

GAMES 

Bowling 8 

Baseball 1 

Basket ball 1 

Tennis 6 

16 



Recreation of 65 Teachers of Keosauqua, Iowa 

fancy work 
Crocheting 4 



SOCIAL RECREATION 

Dancing 11 

Music 3 

Singing _i 

IS 

PASSIVE RECREATION 

Reading 12 

DRIVING 

Riding 1 

Motoring 7 

8 

AVOCATIONS 

Gardening 1 

Housework 2 

3 

SPORTS 

Skating 5 

Swimming 5 

Walking 52 

62 

E 



50 Recreation for Teachers 

Recreation of 65 Teachers of Keosauqua, Iowa — Continued 

GAMES 

Baseball 19 

Indoor baseball 2 

Basket ball 5 

Volleyball 6 

Tennis 11 

Croquet . . 1 

Games 14 

18 

and take part in some form of sport, far less than ten per cent 
take part in any kind of sport outside of walking, and not 
more than ten per cent in most of the lists play any kind of 
games, reckoning each season of the year separately. Passive 
recreation and fancy work, which have little to offer to teachers, 
practically always rank much higher than sports and games. 
In any well-ordered life, visiting, reading, sports, and games 
should each have at least one hundred per cent of all teachers 
in each period of the year. Even this would be a very meager 
minimum, because most vigorous people take part in more 
than one kind of sport and play more than one kind of game. 
However, if we take the various recreational activities of all 
the teachers together, we have a fair composite picture of 
what every one should do. It would not really be extreme, 
if each teacher should, in the course of the year, take part in 
all of the activities here outlined. 

The only rural group represented in these tables is Keo- 
sauqua, Iowa, and it will be seen that sports and games occupy 
a more prominent place with them than they do in any of 
the other lists, and that, on the whole, their recreation is not 
far wrong. 



What Sort of Recreation do Teachers Need? 51 

In practically all these groups, the three principal forms of 
recreation are reading, walking, and moving pictures, with 
the exception of the rural group at Keosauqua, Iowa, where 
moving pictures do not appear among the forms of recreation. 

It may be questioned, however, how far any of these so- 
called recreations are recreative ; it appears in the Flint group, 
for instance, that the walking mentioned is the walking to 
and from school, since there is an almost complete lack of 
various excursions which would be taken in connection with 
walking trips out of town. 

What is Fatigue? 

Ever since the classic study of Mosso on fatigue, it has been 
understood that its phenomena are due primarily to the toxic 
products which are left in the body by exercise. In any ac- 
tivity the tissues involved are torn down, and the old cells 
are thrown into the circulation, to be cast out through the 
lungs, the urine, and the sweat glands. It is owing to this 
waste that the red blood of the heart becomes blue, the fresh 
water which we drink becomes charged with urea and other 
substances, and our underwear becomes stained and mal- 
odorous. The vigor of each tissue is in proportion to its 
newness. The muscle must be constantly destroyed by ac- 
tivity and rebuilt by recreation. 

Mosso found through his series of experiments that after 
this process of cell destruction has gone on rapidly for a time, 
it becomes impossible to eliminate the waste products as fast 
as they are formed. They clog and poison the system, and 
the person begins to feel fatigued. It was found that, if the 
blood or the waste products of a fatigued dog are injected 



52 Recreation for Teachers 

into the body of a normal dog, the second dog will immediately 
show all the characteristics of fatigue. But if the waste 
products are washed out of the body, fatigue does not ensue. 
This shows how necessary perspiration and the other excre- 
tions are to health. 

Probably all of us have at times taken violent exercise, 
and then have retired without taking a bath, and perhaps 
wearing the same underwear. Often we have found ourselves 
stiff and sore the next day and perhaps almost as tired as 
we were at the end of the exercise. At other times, after a 
period of hard work or play, we have taken a bath with 
vigorous massage and have found ourselves within an hour 
as fresh as we were in the beginning. Where the waste 
products are not removed from the skin, they are apt to be 
reabsorbed into the circulation. 

It is not merely the people who are working hard, or taking 
part in violent athletics, in whom this destruction of tissues 
occurs. It is a process which is continuous for every one, 
but the rate is in proportion to the vigor of the activity. 
Even if one is taking little exercise, and that not of such a 
nature as to cause perspiration, the system is likely to become 
clogged with waste products, until he has a feeling of lassitude 
and a disinclination to effort. 

The Rebuilding Process 

While the destruction and elimination of old muscle tissue 
is necessary to strength, it is just as necessary that there 
shall be periods of rest or relative inactivity and of sleep, 
for recuperation. In our sleep the destructive processes 
have nearly ceased, but the vital forces are also largely at rest. 



What Sort of Recreation do Teachers Need? 53 

The respiration is slow, the heartbeat is weak, and rebuilding 
goes on slowly. 

If the person has been working or playing hard physically, 
so that the fatigue is general, the best form of recreation 
may be a period of complete inactivity or sleep. But if, on 
the other hand, his fatigue is mental, or affects only a part 
of the muscular system, the most rapid recuperation comes 
not from complete repose, but from a stimulation of all the 
activities of the body (to their highest effectiveness), without 
an excessive use of those muscles or faculties which are to be 
renovated. 

Nearly all of the recuperative processes belong to the youth 
of the race. A return to primitive conditions is always 
restful, while the conditions of civilized life in a great city 
tend usually to nervous instability. Practically all the 
sounds of nature — the rustle of the leaves, the breaking of 
the waves upon the seashore, the songs of the birds, the 
myriad voices of forest and stream — come as a balm to the 
tired spirit and bring healing on their wings ; but the creaking 
of machinery, the rumbling of wheels, the sounds of the city 
streets, all jar upon us. 

This contrast is as true of sights as of sounds. It is difficult 
to build up strength amidst the lights and shadows of the town. 
On the other hand, the sight of clouds and blue sky, of flowers 
and green trees, of the distant sea, are all restful. 

It is the same with activities. Practically all play and 
most forms of recreation are derived from the activities of 
our ancestors and go back to primitive life, mostly to the hunt 
and chase. The work of the factory, the activities of the 
street and office, often involve a constant nervous irrita- 
tion; while to row upon the river, to walk on its banks or 



54 Recreation for Teachers 

through the forests, or to climb the mountain, brings rest and 
soothing. 

Most of the recreation which the city offers is indoors, in 
air denied by the breath of others. The moving picture and 
the theater are not recreation in the sense which we have 
defined the word. They allow us to forget our cares and wor- 
ries, but they also involve a considerable nerve strain and do 
little rebuilding. No one could recuperate by continuous 
attendance at the theater. Perhaps the only artificial enter- 
tainment which may be counted as a real period of rebuilding 
is music. Music, although not a natural sound, is soothing 
and restful. Other than this, about the only forms of recrea- 
tion in the city which can be counted as recreative in this larger 
sense are games — baseball, tennis, and the like — and such 
sports as swimming, skating, and rowing. 

The Teacher's Special Problems 
physical conditions 

On the physical side, the teacher needs relief from the bad 
air of the schoolroom ; from standing still, which is often 
more wearying than walking; and from the nerve strain of 
teaching and discipline. 

To overcome the effects of vitiated air and standing still, 
the teacher should get out of doors at the close of school, and 
take exercise which will fill her lungs with good air. To 
eliminate waste and give a good complexion, the exercise 
should produce perspiration, and should be followed by a bath. 

To counteract nerve strain, the exercise should be in the 
open air, and if possible in a place where flowers can be seen 
and the birds and the wind in the trees can be heard. During 



What Sort of Recreation do Teachers Need? 55 

recreation as well as work clothing and shoes should not be 
too tight. The physical system should be kept in good work- 
ing order. Glasses should be worn if necessary to avoid 
eye strain. 

To overcome the tendency to tuberculosis, the teacher 
should be out of doors as much as possible and develop her 
lungs by proper exercise. 

Almost any form of outdoor games, such as baseball or 
tennis, will meet the requirements which have been mentioned, 
as will also such sports as skating, coasting, swimming, and 
long walks into the country. It is doubtful, however, if there 
is any better form of exercise for teachers than playing games 
with their own children, provided they are really fond of the 
children and do not find discipline difficult. 

There are, however, many forms of recreation which do not 
meet the needs which have been enumerated in this section, 
and thesej unfortunately, are those which teachers usually 
select. For instance, walking to and from school in the city, 
while better than riding on the street car, is not the most 
desirable form of recreation because the sights and sounds 
of the city streets are not restful. The dodging of automo- 
biles and street cars at the crossings is apt to bring an element 
of strain, and the teacher going to and from her work is apt 
to have her thoughts still on her school and consequently to 
get little real relief. Reading, which is the favorite form of 
recreation among teachers everywhere, offers none of the 
conditions which are demanded. Fancy work is indoors 
and not very strenuous physically. The moving picture 
involves eye strain and often a general nervous irritation. 



56 Recreation for Teachers 

MENTAL CONDITIONS 

But the teacher's problem is not primarily that of physical 
fatigue. While she is standing much of the time — and many 
teachers are fatigued by this — her weariness in the main is a 
fatigue of the attention due to teaching and maintaining disci- 
pline at the same time. She seldom drops her school work 
when it is over, but continues to think and worry over it. The 
first condition of any successful recreation for her is that it 
must be interesting enough to cause her to forget her school. 

If we wish to dwell on any idea, it is best for us to remain 
on the spot where it was first impressed upon us ; but if we 
wish to forget it, we should get away from any place which 
has associations with it. The tired teacher should leave her 
schoolroom as soon as possible after school, and it may be 
best for her to avoid the company of teachers. 

Most people probably find their recreation in society. 
There is nothing that can do more to dispel our own cares 
and worries than to be able to enter sympathetically into the 
lives of others. There is no form of travel which brings with 
it so great a change as the ability to become another person 
for a time, to lead his life and feel his hopes and ambitions. 
But this possibility is given only to one who can put himself 
in another's place. 

The person who has the opposite tendency, who shuts him- 
self up within himself to ponder and brood, will find recrea- 
tion almost impossible. Even a change of place is not suffi- 
cient, ofttimes, because his mind is not turned outward upon 
the world; as Holmes says, "He sits down beside the Pyra- 
mids to resume the conversation he had dropped two weeks 
before in Boston." 



What Sort of Recreation do Teachers Need? 57 

Anything that fixes the mind upon itself, any fear or pain, 
whether physical or mental, distracts it from work and from 
play and prevents efficiency in either. If the teacher has 
the stomach ache or any other pain, it is likely to keep her 
from successful work in history; no less will it decrease the 
enjoyment of tennis or a country walk. Exactly the same 
is true if the pain is mental. But, unfortunately, many of 
us allow ourselves to be diverted by very slight distractions 
which should not normally interfere with our work or our play. 
One reason for this, so far as play is concerned, is that many 
of us never learned as children to love play. It is not so easy 
to cultivate an enthusiasm for it after the age of ten or twelve. 

Few of us are ever able to throw off our worries and fears 
entirely. As we go forth to our work, to our play, to meet 
our fellows in society, or to seek rest in sleep, we have in the 
background of our minds a certain feeling of unsuccess in 
regard to things we have attempted, of remorse for wrongs 
we have done, or of fear for the future. This shadowy back- 
ground prevents us from putting all of our energy and soul 
into our work, prevents us from being spontaneous in our play, 
from going to our friends with open-hearted and full sym- 
pathy, and from having untroubled sleep. Anything that 
enables us to get rid of this residue of strain and foreboding 
will add greatly to our effectivenesss everywhere in life, and 
will furnish the one condition under which we may have 
really spontaneous play. 

Perhaps the most fundamental consideration in recreation 
is that one must keep his mind open. Many people go out 
with their minds so focused upon themselves, their present 
worries and their fears for the future, that their minds are 
almost hermetically sealed to new perceptions. The world 



5 8 Recreation for Teachers 

remains to them a closed book; they neither see the glory 
of sunrise or sunset nor hear the harmonies of nature. 

It is equally important that one shall keep his heart open ; 
for, after all, the appreciation of nature as well as of one's 
fellows belongs primarily to the feelings rather than the in- 
tellect. Such appreciation brings an intimate sympathy and 
feeling of unity with nature and with men. The teacher 
should be a democrat and take a genuine interest in the lives 
of those she meets, if she is really to enjoy her recreation 
period. 

Napoleon said his mind was arranged like a bureau of 
drawers ; he drew out one when he wished to attend to that 
subject, and pushed it back when he was through. When he 
wanted to go to sleep, he closed all the drawers and sleep 
ensued almost immediately. If this might be true of teachers, 
if they could lock their cares in their desk when they left it 
for the day, or even close the algebra drawer before opening 
the history drawer, it would add a hundred per cent to their 
efficiency. 

The mental conditions which are essential to success in 
recreation are exactly the same as those necessary if one is 
to succeed in work, in society, and in sleep. To secure the 
best results, the person must come to his play with the feeling 
of work well done and a holiday deserved ; he must have a 
good conscience; he must drop the tension of his purposed 
achievements out of his muscles; and, ideally, he must 
be an optimist and a believer in God. Before he can get real 
relaxation, he must do his work to his own satisfaction ; he 
must right the wrongs he has committed, or secure a sense of 
forgiveness or forgetfulness in regard to them so that they 
shall not arise like ghosts to trouble his leisure. No one can 



What Sort of Recreation do Teachers Need? 59 

go forth to his play followed by a feeling of duties undone or 
wrongs committed and find relief. Macbeth says, "A nest 
of scorpions is my mind, dear wife." Such thoughts make 
both rest and recuperation and good work impossible. 

The optimist has a great advantage over the pessimist 
because he is always looking for things to turn out well. 
The pessimist can never have complete relaxation or relief, 
because he is always imagining some evil lying in wait for him 
for which he must be prepared. He never dares to throw 
off the strain of effort. 

It is very helpful to the teacher's relaxation to have a secure 
position and the prospect of a pension. 

Recreation does not consist so much in what we do or 
where we go as in our frame of mind. The teacher should 
get into a habit of doing her work so thoroughly that she is 
satisfied with it. She should finish it within a given time 
and then drop it absolutely. If she has in mind some pleasure 
to be enjoyed when her work is done, and has anticipated 
it a little, her mind, in relinquishing its work, naturally springs 
forward to the pleasure to be enjoyed, and the work is forgotten. 
Planning and anticipation are both essential to the success 
of recreation. 

Teachers are the most conservative of people. They are so 
by the very nature of their work. It is difficult for them to 
get new points of view. But growth does not come mainly 
as an accumulation but rather by a series of bounds. A new 
point of view brings with it a whole new field of mental de- 
velopment. We strike a lead, as it were, and work it out 
with profit ; then we go on with the barren digging through 
unrewarding rock until another lead is struck. The person 
who never takes any recreation, who carries the thought of 



60 Recreation for Teachers 

the day over to the morrow, who thinks of his business in- 
terests Sundays and other times, seldom sees his work from 
this new angle on which his larger growth is so dependent. 
In order to secure this result, it is necessary to the teacher 
that her recreation shall cause complete forgetfulness of her 
daily work, so that she may come back to it again, not merely 
refreshed, but with a new mental attitude. 



CHAPTER V 
AFTER SCHOOL 

It should be written in the teacher's bible that the period 
from the close of school until supper time is given to her to 
recuperate and is sacred unto recreation. There are teachers 
who find themselves nearly as fresh at four o'clock in the after- 
noon as they were at nine o'clock in the morning, but most 
of them are too tired to do effective school work after four. 
Some of them would rather do fancy work than play tennis or 
go for a walk, but it is well for them to remember that fancy 
work has little health value ; that a certain minimum of out- 
door exercise is essential to health; and furthermore, that 
the teacher who takes her recreation with a knitting needle 
is not likely to have that attitude toward outdoor life and 
activities which should be cultivated in children. Above 
all other things, the teacher should be a wholesome person 
to copy and should be in sympathy with the desires and the 
activities of childhood. 

The period after school is one of the chief times for the 
recreation of teachers everywhere, but it differs greatly in 
suitability at different times of the year and in different 
sections of the country. Along our northern border in the 
early part of June it will be light until nearly ten o'clock 
at night, while in the same section about Christmas time it 
will be dark soon after two o'clock in the afternoon. Thus 

61 



62 Recreation for Teachers 

this northern section offers great opportunities for recreation 
during the spring, but very poor facilities during the late fall 
and the winter. 

Undoubtedly the place where afternoon recreation is most 
appropriate and most satisfying is in the southern part of the 
country, for there the summer and the winter days do not 
vary much in length, and the time from four to eight is apt 
to be the pleasantest part of the day during the whole year. 
Not only is the temperature more agreeable then, but there 
is a romance surrounding the hours of sunset which lends 
them a peculiar charm. The new daylight-saving rules add 
greatly to the opportunities for after-school recreation in 
spring. 

The following tables show what the teachers are doing 
during these hours in two of our middle-sized cities. 



Activities of 230 Teachers of Kansas City, Kansas, between 
Four and Six in the Afternoon 

school work 

School work 48 

School work — ■ from 30 minutes to an hour . 40 

School work — one hour or more .... 47 

Study 2 

Grade meeting 1 

Lectures 2 

Music practice 25 

Drawing club 2 

Art 1 

Story-telling 3 

Nurses' aid 1 

Camp Fire 3 

175 



After School 63 

Activities of 230 Teachers of Kansas City, Kansas, between 
Four and Six in the Afternoon — Continued 

HOUSEWORK 

Getting dinner 31 

Sewing 23 

Mending 3 

Housework 46 

103 

FANCY WORK 

Fancy work 6 

ON STREET CAR 

Half hour or more 43 

SOCIAL RECREATION 

Visiting and calling 8 

passive recreation 

Reading 102 

Resting 67 

Shows 1 

170 

driving 
Driving 7 

SHOPPING 

Shopping 8 

EXCURSIONS 

In woods 8 

Nature study 7 

15 

AVOCATIONS 

Gardening IS 



64 Recreation for Teachers 

Activities of 230 Teachers of Kansas City, Kansas, between 
Four and Six in the Afternoon — Continued 

SPORTS 

Walking 50 

Walk from school 26 

Skating 6 

Swimming 1 

Recreation 7 

90 

GAMES 

Tennis 13 

Games • _£ 

15 



Activities of 150 Teachers of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, from 
Four to Six in the Afternoon 

school work 

School work 2 

School work — from 30 minutes to an hour . 5 

School work — one hour or more . . . . 72 

Study 2 

Music practice 9 

Drawing 1 

Teaching 4 

95 

HOUSEWORK 

Getting dinner 25 

Sewing 6 

Mending 1 

Errands 4 

Housework 11 

47 



After School 65 

Activities of 150 Teachers of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, from 
Four to Six in the Afternoon — Continued 

FANCY WORK 

Fancy work 2 

on street car 
Half hour or more 8 

social recreation 

Visiting and calling 6 

Dressing for dinner 7 

13 
passive recreation 

Reading 47 

Resting 27 

Shows 1 

Sleep 10 

"85 

MOTORING 

Motoring 2 

SHOPPING 

Shopping 11 

AVOCATIONS 

Gardening 7 

SPORTS 

Walking 67 

Gymnasium work 4 

GAMES 

Tennis 2 

F 



66 Recreation for Teachers 

These facts were collected in response to the simple question, 
"What do you do between four and six in the afternoon ?" 
The replies were given about the first of May. No names 
were signed. It was understood by the teachers that the 
investigation was in regard to forms of recreation. The 
lists given can hardly be an understatement of the average 
recreation which these teachers are taking. 

One hundred thirty-five of the Kansas City teachers men- 
tion school work as one of the important activities during 
this period ; one hundred two give various forms of house- 
work. Much the same is true of the activities of the teachers 
of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. 

The Teacher's Special Problem 

The teacher has a peculiar problem of hygiene. All day 
long she has been breathing the breath of thirty or forty pupils 
in her classroom ; she has been sitting at her desk or standing 
still in her work; she has had that peculiar nervous strain 
which comes from teaching a class and maintaining discipline 
at the same time. She needs to get out of doors and fill her 
lungs with fresh air; she needs to get new red corpuscles 
into her blood ; and she needs to throw off the strain of her 
teaching. It is evident that in this list of activities there is 
practically nothing to help her to better health or even to 
give her relief from the strain of her teaching. If the teacher 
stays on after school correcting papers and doing other school 
work, she may be able to put in an hour or an hour and a half 
in this way, but to gain this time, which is not very satis- 
factory for school work, she usually sacrifices her evening, 
unfitting herself for any effective study at that time. 



After School 67 

There are many conscientious teachers who feel that it is 
their duty to stay in order that they may help backward 
children or others who for some reason have got behind in 
their work. This shows a splendid spirit of helpfulness, and 
as an occasional thing it may be all right, but it must be re- 
membered in general that the children as well as the teacher 
have been a long time in school, and that both need to get out 
of doors. There ought to be some means whereby the teacher 
can help these children during the regular school hours. 

It should not be the practice of teachers to keep children 
after school, not only because in keeping the child the teacher 
is also keeping herself, but also because the child's time after 
four does not belong to her but to himself and his parents. 
If she keeps him, the parents cannot tell when he ought to 
get home. This allows him to play along the way or go to 
places where he ought not to go. 

It should not be the custom of the principal or the super- 
intendent to hold many teachers' meetings during this period. 
There are times when a meeting after school may be necessary, 
but these meetings should usually be short. 

There is in some quarters a feeling on the part of certain 
teachers that they may be criticized by the school board or 
superintendent if they leave school immediately after the chil- 
dren are dismissed. Teachers are usually conscientious and do 
not wish to give the impression that they are slighting their 
work. On this subject Dr. Wood, in his Special Recommen- 
dations on the Welfare of Teachers, says : 

"There should be better provision of facilities, especially in cities and 
large towns, for physical exercise and recreation of teachers. Sociability 
among teachers should be encouraged and fostered whenever possible. 
Principals and superintendents could have a definite influence here if 



68 Recreation for Teachers 

they chose to exert it. It is quite common for teachers to feel that their 
superior officers disapprove of teachers' spending time in recreation, 
especially in the afternoons. And, unfortunately, the attitude of some 
of those in administrative positions seems to justify this assumption. 
But generally teachers are mistaken on this point ; and it is urged that 
principals and superintendents make definite recommendations to their 
teachers in regard to healthful recreation." 

And again, in the final recommendations to the Commission, 
he gives the following as essential : 

"Rigid adherence to the habit of devoting a part of every day to 
healthful recreation, this is the part of a teacher's program that should 
never be neglected. The recommendation to teachers made by an urban 
superintendent to use the hours between 4 and 6 p.m. for recreation and 
outdoor exercise is sensible advice and should be followed with few 
exceptions." 

It is notable that these conclusions of the New York 
Commission agree almost completely with the study of 
Professor Terman on the teacher's health. He says : 

"If the teacher would be healthy, she should take daily exercise, pref- 
erably of the play type." 

And again, 

" An important antidote is to reserve certain hours each day for a 
vacation from professional habits. This recreation ought therefore to 
become the teacher's religion. It should involve play, the very essence 
of which is creativeness and a relaxation from habitual routine." 

College professors and high school teachers seldom remain 
after school for their school work in the same way that ele- 
mentary teachers do, and there can be little doubt that this 
is merely a custom of elementary teachers. Moreover, a 
custom ''better honored in the breach than in the observ- 



After School 69 

ance" ; for all the work which the teacher does then could 
be done better and more quickly at some other time. 

By this we do not mean that the teacher should always 
have her coat and hat on at the time of dismissal and leave 
the building with the children. There is no need of any undue 
haste; but within fifteen or twenty minutes after the close 
of school, in general, the teacher should be away. Most 
rural teachers do their own janitor work. The sweeping and 
dusting must be done after school, because if it is done in 
the morning or at noon, the air will be filled with dust while 
the children are at their seats ; but this work should not take 
over fifteen or twenty minutes. 

Half of the problem of relief lies in the mental habit formed. 
Every teacher should aim at complete relaxation between 
the hours of four and six. As soon as the time comes she 
should spontaneously drop her work and feel that she has 
nothing to do but to enjoy herself. She should go out with 
her mind and heart utterly open to the impressions of the 
moment. In her conversation she should try to forget herself 
and enter into the lives of others. On a walk, she should 
fall back into the life of sensation, inhale the odors of the 
flowers and the meadows, listen to the song of the bird, the 
gurgling of the brook, the rustle of the leaves, dwell upon 
the color of the flowers or the sunset, and feel atingle with 
the soft touch of the breeze. Consciousness absorbed in 
sensation brings as complete relief from care and as much 
direct recuperation as is possible. 



70 Recreation for Teachers 

LOAFING 

While I am not an advocate of loafing in general, there are 
times when loafing is justified, and the very best thing for 
a teacher of low vitality may be to return home immediately 
after school and rest or sleep for half an hour or so. This 
should put her in a condition to enjoy the remainder of 
her afternoon and evening. 

An Avocation 

The teacher's working hours at school amount to only 
25 out of the 168 hours of the week. She has her late after- 
noons and Saturdays free. This gives her abundance of time 
to follow some fad or special interest of her own. It is highly 
desirable that she should have one. 

GARDENING 

Gardening has often been advocated as an ideal occupation 
for teachers. It gives them moderate exercise out of doors, 
and can be usually practiced in the yard itself, so no time 
or money is wasted in going and coming. It is also reasonably 
remunerative. 

I recently heard a physician speak of gardening as an ideal 
form of exercise. It is far from that. It involves a stooped 
posture, a cramped chest, and rounded shoulders. It is not 
usually vigorous enough to quicken the breathing or cause 
perspiration. It does little to develop the lungs or the heart. 
If the teacher is worrying over her position or her work, she 
will carry her worries into the garden with her, and they will 
become more acute as she plies the hoe or trowel. Garden- 




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CO 



o 

u 

< 

o 
PQ 



After School 71 

ing does not satisfy ideally the teacher's need of recreation, 
but if she comes from her school work without any tendency 
to weariness or worry, it may be a desirable form of after- 
noon activity, though it should never be the teacher's only 
recreation. 

The flower garden is more restful than the vegetable garden, 
because there is an appeal in flowers which there is not in 
potatoes or onions. We all have a peculiar animistic feeling 
toward flowers. Little children often talk to them and kiss 
them. They think that they suffer when not watered, and 
that they are thankful when cared for. The tending of a 
bed of flowers has much the same value in moral training 
that the care of a dependent individual might have. The 
companionship of flowers is wholly restful. 

THE RAISING OF CHICKENS, PIGEONS, OR RABBITS 

Whatever the teacher does after school should be a real 
avocation. If she does not like to work in the ground, garden- 
ing is not for her. If she has a fondness for chickens or 
pigeons or rabbits, they will be better. Rabbits have peculiar 
advantages in the city, as they make excellent pets. They 
can be fed upon almost any of the table waste, and this, with 
the grass from the lawn, may be quite sufficient to keep a 
considerable number. They will thrive in a comparatively 
small box. They multiply rapidly and furnish meat which 
many regard as equal to chicken. 

It is more interesting and more profitable to raise fancy 
varieties of chickens, pigeons, or rabbits than the mongrel or 
common stock. A teacher of my acquaintance clears be- 
tween three and four hundred dollars a year from a 



72 Recreation for Teachers 

chicken ranch of about forty thoroughbred black Leghorn 
chickens. 

THE TEACHER AS A CHAUFFEUR 

I have often been surprised that the teacher is not more 
often the chauffeur in communities where the children are 
taken to the consolidated school by motor bus. The teacher 
needs the open air, and she can be relied upon to give personal 
supervision to the children. Driving is an excellent form of 
recreation after school, as it compels the teacher to drop her 
school work. 

Where the teacher owns her own automobile, it is possible 
for her to be a jitney driver between four and six. This is 
the time when there is the greatest demand for extra trans- 
portation, and there are many places where there are groups 
working at some outlying factory without adequate street 
car service who would be glad to be carried into town in this 
way. It may be said that women teachers at any rate should 
not drive a jitney, but there are a considerable number of 
women drivers in the West. Women are operating the street 
cars in Germany and England, and there seems every proba- 
bility that women after the war will take up more and more 
activities which previously have been followed only by men. 
However, the great opportunity for the teacher with an auto- 
mobile is not to drive a jitney on the street, but to take special 
parties on excursions to neighboring cities, or other points 
of interest. 




O 

o 
w 
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After School 73 

Outdoor Sports 
horseback riding 

Horseback riding is excellent sport. It is vigorous, good 
for dyspepsia and constipation, and exciting enough to take 
the mind from work. 

Its great disadvantage is its expense, as the cost of a horse 
is considerable, as is also the monthly cost of maintenance. 
However, this does not absolutely prohibit horseback riding. 
For the rural teacher who can pasture her horse at her boarding 
place and ride back and forth to school, a horse may involve 
little expense. There are many places in the South where 
riding horses are available for teachers. For the consolidated 
schools it should be feasible for a group of teachers to have 
at least a horse or two, which might be used at times for 
cultivating the garden, but which could be used also for 
riding. 

In the cities where it would not be practicable for an indi- 
vidual teacher to keep a horse, it might be possible for a group 
of teachers to hire one cooperatively for the season, each 
having the use of it on certain days or at certain hours. 

BICYCLING 

A few years ago it was a common sight to see a group of 
teachers start out on their bicycles soon after school. It is 
to be regretted that this has gone out of fashion, as bicycling 
was excellent exercise and gave the teacher an abundance 
of open air with an opportunity for nature study and the de- 
velopment of community knowledge at a minimum of expense. 
Bicycling is still popular in Germany and Japan, and it may 



74 Recreation for Teachers 

be that we ought to promote bicycling for what it might do 
educationally both for the teacher and for the children. 

DRIVING 

If the teacher owns an automobile or has the use of one, 
she will usually find it pleasant to drive on certain afternoons 
after school until supper time. Where the roads are good 
she can cover twenty to forty miles in this time. If a group 
of five to seven teachers go out together and share the expense, 
a forty-mile trip should not involve an expense of more than 
twenty-five or thirty cents for each. 

WALKING 

Walking usually appears as either the first or second most 
popular form of recreation. It is to be suspected, however, 
that much of this walking is the mere walking to and from 
school. If the teacher on her way to school is thinking 
about her day's work and wishing she didn't have to do it; 
and if, on her way home, she is thinking how bad John and 
Mary were or how irritating the principal and superintendent 
were, and is wishing it were Friday instead of Tuesday, this 
walking is not to be considered as recreation. But if, on the 
way to school, she looks forward to her day with joy and 
returns from it with happy memories of how good Mary 
was or how thoughtful John was, she may find even such 
walking beneficial. 

It may be noted in the reports of the Kansas City teachers 
that a large proportion of them spend from half an hour to 
an hour on the street car going and coming each day. This 
time is not usually restful, and it practically prevents the 



After School 75 

teacher's getting any other form of recreation before supper. 
Street car fares for 22 days in the month would be $2.20, 
and the time, if it is only an hour a day and we value it at 
only 25 cents, would be worth $5.50. This makes an extra 
expense of $7.70 due to the fact that the teacher is living at 
a distance from her school. Moreover it is much better for 
the teacher to live in the neighborhood where she teaches, 
because she will understand the home life of her children 
better and become a real member of the community. It is a 
great mistake for teachers in the city to live two or three 
miles from their schools, if it can possibly be avoided. In 
the country, on the other hand, there is not so great an objec- 
tion to the teacher's living at a considerable distance from 
the school, as walking is much more recreative there. A 
walk of four or five miles a day would give to each teacher 
about the exercise which she ought to have. However, the 
condition of the roads or the weather may make this inex- 
pedient. 

In general, however, a walk which does not lead to or from 
the school will be more likely to bring up restful associations. 
Walking in the city is never satisfactory because of the hard 
pavements and the dodging of automobiles and street cars 
at the crossings. The city teacher, however, can often go 
into the country or to one of the parks on the street car. 

Perhaps the best thing for the country teacher would be 
to go home frequently with the children, to visit them and 
see the pigs and chickens and rabbits. Occasionally she may 
well stay to supper and get acquainted with father and mother. 
A walk of this kind gives an opportunity for more intimate 
acquaintance with the children and leads to that kind of under- 
standing which often develops into personal friendship. 



7 6 Recreation for Teachers 

Some day we shall be wise enough to allow the teacher to 
dismiss her school occasionally at two or three o'clock in the 
afternoon, and take the children to some point of interest, 
to collect flowers, to study birds, or to play baseball. 



CANOEING OR ROWING 

Where there is a lake or river, it usually plays a part in the 
teacher's recreation. Both canoeing and rowing are admirable 
exercise, and they are interesting enough to divert the mind. 
A canoe is not expensive, and it gives constant opportunity 
for excursions, picnics, and fishing trips. 

In the Normal School at San Diego, California, many of 
the students belong to barge crews. While these boats are 
all eight-oared, they will hold twenty people comfortably, 
and usually two crews at least go in a boat so that they can 
change off when tired. There are many whale boat crews 
among the high school girls and boys in Oakland. These 
boats have from eight to sixteen oars and give an opportunity 
for nearly all the young people to learn to row. It would be 
admirable if there were several such boats belonging to the 
board of education in every city where there is an accessible 
body of water. These boats might be used by high school 
students for rowing as regular class work. It would be 
almost impossible to find anything that would be better 
exercise, and there are always opportunities for picnics and 
camping in connection with rowing of this sort. If such 
rowing were provided for the students, it should be available 
for the teachers also. 

In many cities it ought to be possible for the teachers to 
organize a canoe club. If the city is located on a river with- 



After School 77 

out many dams or waterfalls, a one or two days' trip up-stream 
or floating down might be delightful. When the day's or 
week's trip is ended, the canoe may be put on a freight car 
and sent home at a cost of from fifty cents to a dollar or two. 

SWIMMING 

Swimming does not appear largely among the recreations 
of teachers. In the past the facilities for it have been very 
inadequate, but now there are good swimming pools in most 
of our new Y. M. and Y. W. C. A.'s, and in the majority of 
our new high schools. They are being provided more and 
more in connection with our new elementary schools also. 
Swimming is one of the features that is coming into education 
throughout the world. This sport is most refreshing during 
the warmer months of the year, and there is a social spirit 
in a group of swimmers which nearly always leads to a good 
time and acquaintanceship. Teachers may be able to arrange 
for the use of the swimming pool at the high school on certain 
afternoons or evenings, or they may go to the Y. W. C. A. 
instead. During the winter especially, swimming is one of 
the most feasible forms of exercise. 

Winter Sports in the North 

The most difficult situation for after-school recreation is 
found in the northern part of the country in the late fall and 
winter. By the time school is out it is practically dark. It 
will probably be so cold that the majority of teachers will not 
care to go for a walk, and while there are cases where they 
can skate or coast, these are the exceptions. It is difficult 
in many places to find any suitable form of outdoor exercise. 



j 8 Recreation for Teachers 

In school systems where there is a good gymnasium, probably 
the best solution is to meet there two or three afternoons 
a week and play games or have gymnastics, folk dancing, 
or swimming. This would give the needed physical exercise 
and mental relief, but it is indoors. 

SKATING 

Many teachers feel that their children ought to stay in if the 
temperature is low, and they themselves do not go out more 
than necessary. However, children left to themselves are 
apt to play outdoors nearly as much in winter as in other 
seasons. Indeed they usually look forward eagerly to the 
time for snow. The person who is warmly dressed may be 
just as comfortable outdoors in cold weather as in summer. 
I recently asked a boy of seven, who had returned within the 
year from California, whether he would rather live in Cali- 
fornia or in Michigan, and he replied that he would like 
to live in California in the spring and summer, but he wanted 
to be in Michigan in the winter so that he could play in the 
snow. Where ice is accessible teachers may well spend an 
average of three or four hours every week in skating. 

COASTING 

Most teachers seem to feel that coasting is undignified, 
befitting a boy of six rather than a mature young woman of 
twenty. However, it is often an advantage for the teacher 
to slough off her dignity for a while and become more simple 
and human. Before the war, there were hundreds of to- 
bogganing and skiing associations for adults in Germany, 
Austria, and Scandinavia. 



After School 79 

SKIING AND SNOWSHOEING 

Dartmouth has been the leader in winter sports among the 
colleges, and has developed a winter carnival that has attracted 
attention throughout the country. The interest is now so 
keen that a large number of students go every winter on 
snowshoes or skis for cross-country hikes at week-ends, and 
even occasionally on longer trips into the White Mountains. 
In the week-end trips, it is sometimes necessary for the party 
to sleep out in the snow, though they aim to spend the night 
at one of the special shelters which have been prepared for 
this purpose. At their annual carnival there are races on 
snowshoes and skis, obstacle races, and jumping contests, 
and then the novel ski-joring race in which the ski runner is 
drawn by one or two horses. In the festival of February, 191 7, 
the competitors were Dartmouth, Williams, and Middlebury 
Colleges, Hanover High School, and Bishop College of McGill 
University, Canada. 

Teachers will not as a rule have as much vitality or athletic 
ability as students in a college like Dartmouth, but it would 
scarcely be possible to devise anything that would do more 
to set sluggish blood to circulating and to promote a good 
digestion than a cross-country trip of this kind. It is just 
the kind of stimulus which the teacher needs after her long 
hours in the schoolroom. Nothing else will give her so good 
a complexion. We have always said that the great advantage 
which the North has over the South is the stimulus of the cold. 



80 Recreation for Teachers 

Games 

games with children 

Not one of the one hundred forty-eight teachers from a 
Michigan city mentioned playing with children even as one 
of her minor forms of recreation, and this despite the fact 
that many of them mentioned housework, which would not 
ordinarily be considered recreative. Nevertheless one of the 
very best forms of recreation that the teacher can have, if 
she loves children and is fairly vigorous, is to stay after school 
to play such games as prisoner's base, pullaway, the ring games, 
volley ball, and tennis with the children on the school grounds. 
I have myself taken part in nearly every form of sport and 
game which is mentioned in this chapter, but I have never 
found anything either more enjoyable or more fully recreative 
than this. Incidentally it may be remarked that the teacher 
can often add ten to twenty dollars to her month's salary 
in this way. 

CROQUET 

There is a tendency to regard croquet as over-ladylike, 
but there is much to be said for it as an occasional form of 
outdoor play. To the older and stouter teachers, who may 
not care to play tennis or to row on the crew, it offers a mild 
form of recreation in the open air which is about what they 
require. It is a good social game and allows visiting nearly 
as freely as a cup of tea. There are times, also, when women 
are not in condition for vigorous exercise, and croquet is 
admirable for these periods. 



After School 81 

BOWLING ON THE GREEN 

Most of the early cities of this country were provided with 
bowling greens, and to-day in most of the cities of Scotland, 
England, and Holland, well-patronized bowling greens will 
be found. The same is true of many of the cities of Canada. 
A considerable number have been laid out, also, in Boston 
and New York during the last few years. Bowling is more 
vigorous than golf but appeals to people of about the same 
age. It requires a piece of ground about 125 feet by 100 feet 
in size, on which a perfect turf is maintained. It is an ad- 
mirable form of recreation for the older teachers. 

GOLF 

There are always a few teachers in the larger cities who 
belong to the golf club. But golf is generally too expensive 
both in time and money for teachers. The annual member- 
ship fee is seldom less than twenty-five dollars and is often 
twice that amount, and the links are so far out of town that 
much time is wasted in going and coming. 

TENNIS 

The best game for teachers is tennis. It offers excellent 
exercise in the open air and is sufficiently exciting. Nearly 
every teacher in the city should belong to a tennis club. 
However, there are many cities where there are almost no 
tennis courts, and in few is the number adequate. Teachers 
may join a tennis club already established or they may or- 
ganize a club which will lease or build courts. It may be 
feasible to build courts in the yards of some of the resident 
teachers. 



82 Recreation for Teachers 

The school system, however, must more and more plan 
for the recreation of teachers as well as children. With the 
larger school grounds being secured it should be possible 
to have a tennis court in connection with every school. Cer- 
tainly all high schools should have several courts. It should 
always be possible for the teachers to play tennis either after 
school or on Saturdays, though some prefer to get up early 
and play before breakfast. The teacher who will play tennis 
for an hour a day should not get dyspepsia or constipation 
or consumption or any serious disorder. No student should 
be allowed to graduate from any normal school who has not 
learned how to play this game fairly well. If students learn 
to love tennis in the normal, it is likely that they will continue 
to play afterwards. 

Dinner Servitude 

From four until eight o'clock every day should be devoted 
to recreation by every teacher. During this time she should 
not undertake any serious scholastic work or study. These 
four hours, practically half a day, should be ample to keep 
her in splendid condition. However, a teacher in a large city, 
who must ride on the street car for forty minutes in order 
to get anywhere, and who must come back to a six or six- 
thirty supper, will have only a half hour or so for recreation 
before meal time. 

Now, supper is not really so necessary as we are apt to feel. 
Most of us are eating too much, and if we should occasionally 
go without a meal, it would not do us any harm. However, 
it is not necessary for the teacher to fast in order that she 
may use the time from four to eight as a unit. If she will 
take some bread and butter and bacon for a picnic supper, 



After School 83 

it may be even more enjoyable than a home dinner. With 
these four hours as a unit, it is possible to go fishing or hunting 
or rowing or swimming every day. Three or four hours of 
fishing is ample, and no one cares to row or canoe for a longer 
time. Another way is to go to a neighboring resort for four 
hours, or to motor with others to a town twenty -five or fifty 
miles distant and dine there, returning in that most delightful 
time of the day when the sun is setting, to find that she has 
taken no time from her working hours. If she is still more 
ambitious, she may occasionally dine and spend the night away. 

At the University of Colorado, in the summer of 191 7, the 
writer suggested to his audience that they go up the mountain 
the next afternoon, and have the evening lecture on the 
mountain top. There were from 250 to 300 people present, 
nearly all of whom were teachers from the high schools and 
grades of Colorado and adjacent states. I thought that 
possibly thirty or forty might like to go, but to my surprise, 
190 had signed up by ten o'clock the next morning, and paid 
the fifty cents necessary to cover the expense of the two 
meals and the transportation of blankets. At four o'clock 
the next afternoon, the time set for starting, a drizzling rain 
was falling; nevertheless some 170 people appeared and fell 
into line for the three or four-mile walk to the top of Flagstaff. 
The rain continued until about half past six, and most of us 
were pretty wet by that time. Not more than two or three 
of the company turned back. We quickly built a roaring 
fire, and thanks to the dry climate of Colorado were soon 
thoroughly dry. 

Before sitting down to supper every one was instructed to 
find as soft a place as possible for the night. Our supper 
consisted of sandwiches made on the spot from fresh rolls 



84 Recreation for Teachers 

and beefsteak which we broiled on special grates which the 
University had sent up, with oranges and coffee for dessert. 

After supper the company sang songs for an hour around 
the camp fire, having a thoroughly good time, and growing 
somewhat uproarious at times. Following the lecture was 
an hour of story-telling under the direction of the Dean of 
Women, and then we spent a half hour in sight-seeing. 

Below us to the left, at a distance of about forty miles, 
could be seen the lights of Greeley. Perhaps twenty-five 
miles in the same direction were the lights of Longmont, 
while almost beneath our feet lay Boulder and the Chau- 
tauqua grounds. By walking a few rods to the other side 
of the mountain, we could see the city of Denver, thirty 
miles away, through a glory of illuminated haze punctuated 
with occasional bright lights. 

At about half past eleven the company broke up for the 
night, though not all to sleep. It was a night worth lying 
awake to see, for the light of the moon sifted down through 
the trees, throwing weird shadows along the mountain, while 
the stars stood out with a brilliance possible only when they 
are seen from a mountain top. 

In the morning we arose at four o'clock for the sunrise, 
and were well repaid. We saw the first auroral flashes of 
the dawn shooting up from below the horizon ; and the clouds 
turn yellow and then red ; until the eastern sky became a 
sheet of fire which was reflected on more than a hundred 
storage reservoirs in the valley below till each of them seemed 
the crater of a five volcano. 

We had finished our breakfast of eggs, sandwiches, coffee, 
and oranges, by half past five, and by seven most of us were 
back again in Boulder. 



After School 85 

This trip occupied the time from four o'clock of one after- 
noon until seven o'clock the next morning. In the company 
there were only two men. Such a trip might be taken on 
any school day from almost any city or town. 

A List of Activities after School 

In the Fall: Skiing 

Playing games with children Sleigh riding 

Walking home with children Coasting 

Going with children on na- Skating 

ture study trips and excur- Playing basket ball, volley 

sions ball, handball, and indoor 

Going out for picnic suppers baseball in gymnasium 

Walking Swimming in a natatorium 

Horseback riding Moving pictures 
Bicycling 

Motorcycling In the S P Hn Z : 

Automobiling Playing games with children 

Canoeing and rowing Gathering flowers 

Playing tennis Studying birds 

Basket ball Making collections of flowers, 
Volley ball butterflies, and minerals 

Nutting expeditions Visiting factories, industries, 
Picnics and corn roasts and points of scenic and 

Hunting and fishing historic interest in the 

neighborhood 

In the Winter: Walking 

Playing games with children Horseback riding 
Walking Bicycling 

Snowshoeing Motorcycling 



86 Recreation for Teachers 

Automobiling Raising rabbits or chickens 

Canoeing and rowing Driving an automobile 

Playing tennis, volley ball, Swimming 

basket ball, (indoor) base- Hunting and fishing 

ball, croquet, bowling, golf Taking camera trips for 

Gardening pictures. 



CHAPTER VI 
THE TEACHER'S EVENINGS 

So far as possible the teacher should so organize her day 
that the evening shall belong to her. It is her great oppor- 
tunity for progress. While she often uses this time for 
correcting papers and preparing lessons, it would be better 
if such work were done in the morning, so that the evening 
might be free for the pursuit of those activities in which she is 
especially interested or which are essential to her progress. 

In some cases the teacher has no room of her own, and often 
her room is too cold in winter for studying or reading com- 
fortably. A satisfactory private room is a fundamental 
requirement and should be insisted upon. 

In order to find out what teachers were actually doing 
during the evening, the following brief questionnaire was 
mimeographed and distributed in St. Joseph, Missouri : 

From seven to ten p. M., in six week days, there are eighteen 
hours. Considering the different seasons of the year, how 
many of these hours do you estimate you spend, in : 

Housework ; correcting papers ; preparing lessons ; study ; 
reading ; visiting ; moving pictures ; theater ; dancing ; 
cards ; fancy work ; teaching ; practicing music ; sports ; 
games. 

No names need be signed. 

A tabulation of the answers follows : 

87 



88 



Recreation for Teachers 



Activities of 292 Teachers of St. Joseph, Missouri, in the 

Evening 



school work 



Correcting papers 
Preparing lessons 
Studying . . . 
Teaching . . . 

Totals . 



No. OF 


Total No. 


Average 


Average 


Teachers 


of Hours 


per Week 


per Day 






Hrs. Min. 


Min. 


173 


394-nr 


I.40 


13 


219 


6l7H 


2.06 


21 


200 


504 


1.56 


ioi 


IO 


26 






602 


1,6025- 


4.62 


53i 



OTHER work 



Housework . 
Sewing . . 
Church . . 
Red Cross . 
Totals 



172 
II 

7 
4 


486^ 
36i 
12 

7 


i-39 
7i 

2 12 


i6i 


194 


54iror 


i.39t 5 2 


i7f 



Fancy work . 
Knitting . . 

Totals 



FANCY WORK 



119 

49 


249i 
i54i 


54 
3i| 


si 


168 


403! 


B3i 


I3f 



PRACTICING MUSIC 



Practicing music I 112 I 



244i 



50 



8* 



SOCIAL RECREATION 



Visiting . . 

Dancing . . 

Cards . . . 

Totals 



208 

20 

42 


487H 

57f 


270 


S69tV 



1.40 


i6| 


4t 


5 

6 


12 


2 


i-56f 


i9i 



The Teacher's Evenings 



8 9 



Activities of 292 Teachers of St. Joseph, Missouri, in the 
Evening — Continued 



PASSIVE RECREATION 



Reading . . . 
Theater . . . 
Moving pictures 
Lectures . . . 
Concerts . . . 

Totals . 



No. OF 


Total No. 


Average 


Average 


Teachers 


of Hours 


per Week 


per Day 






Hrs. Min. 


Min. 


278 


1 080 \ 


3-42 


37 


72 


92| 


19 


3 


156 


22ofk 


45 


7* 


6 


II 


4 




4 


TT 3 


4 




5i6 


I4l6j| 


4.11 


47i 



SPORTS 



Walking . . 

Gymnastics . 

Sports . . 

Totals 



6 


6i 






2 


8 






36 


54 






44 


68^ 


14 


*i 



Games 



GAMES 

32 I 



4oHI 



ii 



It will be seen from these tables that the St. Joseph teachers 
are spending one hour and forty minutes per week on correct- 
ing papers ; two hours and six minutes in preparing lessons ; 
and one hour and fifty-six minutes in study ; that all together 
they are spending about an hour a day on school work. 
Dancing and cards form a very small element in their lives. 
Passive recreation occupies nearly a hour a day, while sports 
and games together total only twenty-two minutes a week, 
an amount which is negligible. These figures are obtained 
by dividing the number of hours by the total number of 
teachers answering the questionnaire. The number of hours 



90 Recreation for Teachers 

accounted for are a little over seventeen per week. There is 
probably too much time spent on school work, and too little 
on study, visiting, reading, and sports and games. 

Work 

There are five main activities which must find a place in 
any normal program for the teacher's evenings. They are: 
work, study, reading, society, and play. As to what 
proportion of the time shall be given to each of these, no 
general rule can be made. The teacher who finds her work 
pleasant and easy during the day may devote more time to 
work or study in the evening, while the teacher who finds 
her work hard and unpleasant during the day should devote 
more of her evenings to play. The proportion of time given 
to these various activities should also vary considerably 
with the season of the year and the section of the country. 

HOUSEWORK 

Housework occupies one hour and thirty-nine minutes of 
the St. Joseph teachers' week. A considerable proportion of 
all teachers live at home. It is natural that they should 
help to get supper and to do the other housework. Even 
where teachers are boarding in private homes, it is proper 
that they should assist at times. If the amount of this work 
is not too great, it should be a form of relaxation. But there 
are many teachers who are doing all the housework both for 
themselves and for brothers and sisters or dependent parents. 
This is undoubtedly too much, unless the teacher has a 
light program or unusual vigor. Even if it does not overtax 
her physically, it will leave insufficient time for recreation and 




(4 
W 
H 
% 
W 

U 
«5 

h-l 
O 

o 

Z 

o 

H 

-75 

o 

PQ 



The Teacher's Evenings 91 

social life. As to the effect of such work, the New York 
report says : 

"Twelve per cent of the outside conditions reported by teachers as 
most detrimental to their health and five per cent of those reported as 
most detrimental to their efficiency are 'home cares, duties, or worries.' 
Seventeen per cent of the outside conditions reported by supervisors as 
most detrimental to the health and general welfare of teachers are ' home 
cares, duties, or worries.' One supervisor gives 'house-work required 
of teachers living with parents.'" 

It will be noticed, also, that a considerable proportion of 
the teachers put down housework as one of their means of 
recreation. As to whether housework shall be work or play 
depends upon the spirit in which it is done, and also on the 
teacher's training in this direction. 

TEACHING 

In the city there is often an opportunity to teach evening 
school. There are many teachers who can stand this physi- 
cally without ill health or a feeling of overfatigue, but I 
question whether there are any who can stand it mentally. 
Teaching during too many hours uses all the energy which 
might otherwise go to growth, and the almost inevitable 
result is mental stagnation and arrested development. 

SCOUTING, CAMP FIRES, AND SOCIAL CENTERS 

As opposed to the teaching of the three R's, little can be said 
against the teacher's becoming the Guardian of a Camp Fire 
or a Scout Master, or a director of activities at a social center 
or settlement. These occupations call into play different 
faculties ; they tend to loosen up the teacher's mental machin- 



92 Recreation for Teachers 

ery and keep it from setting hard and fast along conventional 
lines. The social opportunity and training which come 
through such activities should lead to a closer sympathy 
with children and be a real preparation for social leadership. 

Study 

The evening is the teacher's great opportunity to make 
progress. Probably two or three evenings of every week 
should be devoted to study. 

It may seem radical to suggest that the teaching process 
is not educative. But where a teacher takes a certain grade 
and keeps it until her work becomes routine, she generally 
suffers arrested development. A young man and a young 
woman graduate from high school at the same time. The 
young man goes on to a good-sized farm, while the young 
woman takes a fifth grade and teaches year after year without 
further study. At the end of ten years the young man will 
probably have learned more from his farm and will have a 
broader outlook upon life than the young woman from her 
teaching. Routine teaching does not educate the teacher. 
It is necessary that she shall continue to study. 

Reading 

Reading appears as a main form of recreation in the state- 
ments from all cities. It is usually the chief form. Whether 
it shall be restful or not is largely determined by the 
teacher's method. If she feels that a certain book must be 
mastered for an examination, the reading required will 
almost inevitably be work ; but if, on the other hand, she 
takes up the same book with a desire to know what it contains 



The Teacher's Evenings 93 

without any feeling of obligation towards its contents, and 
reads on with spontaneous interest, such reading may well be 
play. 

The teacher should be in touch with what is taking place 
in the world, in order that her instruction may be adapted 
to life. She should read a daily paper, and some good weekly 
or monthly summary of important events such as is found in 
The Outlook, The Literary Digest, The World's Work, The 
Review of Reviews, or The New Republic. 

Every teacher should be familiar with the best literature of 
childhood, as a part of her own education as well as to enable 
her to tell certain of these stories to her pupils. 

It has been the custom to decry novel reading, but moderate 
novel reading has much to recommend it. An unread novel 
should often lie on the teacher's table to be taken up when she 
wishes to forget her work or to pass a rainy afternoon. The 
novel is a means of vicarious experience, of putting ourselves 
in the place of others and realizing what their lives are like. 
As such it may furnish valuable training for the teacher, often 
giving her as much power of insight as a study of formal 
psychology. Novels should not be read rapidly, but the 
episodes should be allowed to linger in the mind, that the 
reader may come to appreciate the characters and the plot 
and may work out her own solution of the situations. There 
come to most of us times when the world seems to have gone 
wrong, when the principal or superintendent is hard to please, 
when the parents are irritating, and the children troublesome 
— and we want to forget everything. At such times the 
exciting novel has a real mission. It enables us to lay aside our 
troubles and rest until their bitterness has passed. 



94 Recreation for Teachers 

Society 

The insight which comes from a full social life is often 
more effective in helping us to understand people than any 
psychology which can be gotten from a textbook. The 
teacher's personal influence is largely determined by her 
social tact. The superintendent should promote the social 
life of his teachers. 

Teachers should plan to have their meals in company 
where the conversation will be pleasant and stimulating. 
This social period may well last from six until eight in the 
evening. 

Nearly every one likes to sit about an open fire. A group 
gathered about the fire, telling stories, cracking nuts, and pop- 
ping corn, as we see pictured in Whittier's Snowbound, is 
at its best socially. Such pipe dreams as rise when the storm 
is whistling outside often point the way to the future. One 
of the great weaknesses of teachers, as of other people, is the 
lack of a clear idea of what they wish to do or to be. We 
all need time to dream. 

Every town of six hundred inhabitants or more should 
have a teachers' club. Teachers should organize to discuss 
their problems, to determine the proper social and hygienic 
and scholarly conditions of their work, to secure adequate 
salaries, to plan for recreation, and to improve conditions 
for the children. 

For this purpose they should meet from one evening a week to 
one evening a month. It would be fine if they might occa- 
sionally have a dinner together at the high school. Following 
the dinner and a social half hour, there should be a paper 
and discussion, after which the teachers might separate into 



The Teacher's Evenings 95 

sectional meetings. Every teacher should be expected to 
present a reasonably scholarly paper at least once a year. 

It is essential to the teacher's development that she shall 
come into contact with the standards of the outside world. 
She should meet with her peers after the day's work is done, 
that she may have that sort of stimulating touch with reality 
which the lawyer and the doctor get in their daily work. 
Supposing the time selected for meetings to be Wednesday 
night, there might be, on the first Wednesday of the month, 
a debate ; on the second Wednesday, dancing, games, and 
swimming ; on the third Wednesday, a lecture ; and on the 
fourth, another social program. Each of these might well be 
preceded by a cooperative dinner. 

Many forms of recreation will be impossible without 
organization. Moreover, most teachers wish to take their 
recreation with their friends rather than by themselves. 
In every good-sized city there should be a tennis club, a 
rowing club, a nature study club, an excursion club, and an 
automobile club. Not all of these need be organized in any 
one year, but a teacher who is in a rowing club this year 
might be in a tennis club next year, and possibly an automobile 
club the year following. It is not necessary that the member- 
ship of such recreation clubs should be limited to teachers. 
On the other hand, it is desirable that the teacher should 
organize the recreation of the community as well as her own. 
It is not best for teachers to associate merely with one another, 
and most of the members of these clubs would get more 
enjoyment and more benefit if there were more men than could 
be secured from the teaching staff. 



g6 Recreation for Teachers 

THE TEACHERS' CLUBHOUSE 

Ever since Dr. Claxton has been Commissioner of Education, 
there has been a growing movement for the teacherage, espe- 
cially in connection with the one-room rural schools. 
Recently this has broadened into a demand for an apartment 
house for the teachers connected with consolidated schools. 
Perhaps the time is not far distant when we shall also have a 
teachers' residence or clubhouse in connection with many of 
our larger city systems. A number of years ago, the city of 
Frankfort, Germany, built a special teachers' quarter for its 
pedagogues. I doubt if it is desirable for teachers to live 
by themselves. I am sure that there is often an advantage in 
their living in the community in which they are teaching, but 
I am also confident that there is a real need of a teachers' 
clubhouse in most cities. 

Nearly everything established at the universities comes 
down sooner or later to the public schools, and we may 
confidently expect that just as the university professors have 
their club, which is a social center for the faculty and the 
residence of a few of the younger members, so our public 
schools will soon have their clubhouse, which will serve the 
same purpose for the teachers. 

Ideally such a clubhouse might be made to serve the needs 
of city teachers as almost nothing else could. It should 
have, if possible, an entire block of ground, with provision 
for tennis, bowling, and croquet. There should be an audi- 
torium, ample dining rooms, social rooms and parlors, a 
gymnasium and swimming pool, and dormitory facilities for 
a number of teachers. Such a clubhouse would give the 
teachers an altogether new social standing in the city. It 



The Teacher '5 Evenings 97 

might serve as a place for teachers' meetings and institutes 
and lectures and for the demonstration of new pedagogical 
methods. Here visiting teachers and lecturers should be 
entertained; here new teachers and transferred and sub- 
stitute teachers might reside. The parlors and dining room 
should be accessible to all the force for receiving company, 
giving parties or entertainments, and taking friends to dinner. 

The initial expense of erecting such a building would be 
considerable. The board of education should be as much 
interested as a cash register company or a steel company or 
any other of the industrial organizations which have so largely 
erected such buildings for their employees, though of course 
they are not equally free in the use of the funds which are 
intrusted to them. It seems likely that such buildings might 
be given to cities if it were understood that they were desired. 
There are always people who are ready to do striking things, 
and a new type of building for the teachers of the children 
would offer a special appeal. Splendid clubhouses for 
soldiers have recently been built or rented, mostly with funds 
raised locally, in the cities adjacent to the cantonments, 
though these cantonments will probably be occupied only for 
a short time. The public should be as much interested in 
the welfare of teachers as of soldiers. 

It is not unlikely that one of the educational foundations 
might be as much interested in starting such a movement as 
in the apartment house for the consolidated school. It is 
also possible that the teachers might secure the funds either 
by getting contributions, or by giving benefits or general 
entertainments, or by selling stock, as city and university 
clubs usually are doing. The rooms and other facilities might 
rent for enough to pay interest on the investment. The idea 



98 Recreation for Teachers 

is so practical and desirable that its realization is almost in- 
evitable if it is once plainly impressed upon the popular 
imagination. 

If the Teachers' Clubhouse were built with such dormitory 
facilities as the Y. M. C. A. affords, it might offer a solution 
for some of the most serious problems of recreation for teachers. 
It is difficult for women to travel alone with a feeling of 
safety and propriety, but if there were in each city such a 
building where they would be welcome, they would have a 
new independence. Such a club might be self-supporting, 
even at rates considerably below the ordinary hotel charges. 
They might thus become acquainted with the city teachers 
and with the work in the schools, and meet prominent people. 
The teacherages at the one-room rural school, the teachers' 
apartment houses at the consolidated school, and the teachers' 
clubs in the cities might form an ideal system of accommoda- 
tions for visiting teachers. 

For this end to be adequately realized, there should be 
some national organization among the teachers corresponding 
to the Wandervogel of Germany. It should involve a dis- 
tinctive uniform or badge, which would insure recognition 
and hospitality to all members. Such an organization might 
stimulate wonderfully the development of recreation through- 
out the country. 

THE SOCIAL CENTER 

The social center also should be helpful to teachers. It 
ought to be a place where they could exhibit the work that 
their children have been doing and subject it to the stand- 
ards of the outer world. The opportunity of meeting the 
parents and of taking part in choral singing, moving pic- 






The Teacher's Evenings 99 

ture exhibitions, dancing, and games should also be ap- 
preciated. 

In the rural communities most of the social life often gathers 
around the entertainments given by the school, and even 
spelling matches, debates, and community singing often have 
an important social value both to the teacher and the children. 

THE TEACHERS ' BENEFIT 

It would be to the advantage of the teachers if there should 
be a Teachers' Benefit, which should be a recognized annual 
event, and serve as the show-window of the teaching force. 
Such an entertainment might take the form of a drama or 
readings given by different teachers or a glee club concert 
or a musicale. I have seen a number of programs of this 
kind and have usually found them quite as well worth attend- 
ing as the performances at the theater. They serve to bring 
the teaching force before the public, and in the end are sure 
to give it an improved standing in the community. For a 
benefit of this kind, it would often be possible to secure the 
cooperation of the best theatrical talent gratis or nearly so. 

The profits might go toward securing a country club or a 
city club, or teachers' pensions, or the general good of the 
schools. The public would gladly buy the tickets even at a 
fairly high price, and the proceeds should be considerable. 
If these funds were allowed to accumulate, they would in time 
become adequate in themselves for the purposes mentioned. 



ioo Recreation for Teachers 

Play 

DANCING 

Dancing is eminently social and tends to develop intimacy. 
Folk dances in the open air satisfy all the needs of exercise 
and play arising from the teacher's occupation. Teachers 
are dancing more and more, but there still are many com- 
munities in which this recreation is not sanctioned by public 
opinion, and there probably are none in which some people 
will not think somewhat less highly of the teacher if she is 
known to attend public dances. Dancing seems to be a 
negligible factor in the recreation of the teachers of St. Joseph. 

THEATERS AND MOVIES 

Probably nearly every city teacher goes either to the 
theater or the moving picture show once a month or oftener, 
and many of them go several times a week. Teachers ought 
to attend the movies, and they should also go to standard 
performances by good actors. If they will choose for this 
amusement the period immediately after supper or rainy 
or disagreeable afternoons, when they cannot be outdoors, 
they can usually see all the movies that are worth seeing 
without taking any time which might be usefully employed 
in other things. About once a month, or it may be once a 
week, it may be worth while for the teacher to attend the 
standard theater; but she will usually go either Saturday 
afternoon or evening, and this would not interfere with any 
of the other projects outlined. On the whole, most teachers 
are getting as much of this form of recreation as they should ; 
many are getting more. 






The Teacher's Evenings 101 



MUSIC 

Music is restful to most people. If the teacher is expert 
enough so that music is a means for the expression of her feel- 
ings, to play or to listen to good music for half an hour will 
often be a great nervous relief. Where there is a good victrola 
or phonograph fifteen minutes or a half hour spent with it 
may also prove restful. Nearly all find a musicale more rest- 
ful than a lecture, and to many operas and musicales have a 
great recreational value. 

FANCY WORK 

Crocheting, tatting, and embroidery ought always to be 
taken up only when all other means of recreation have failed. 
Fancy work involves no invigorating exercise, but uses the 
little accessory muscles, calling for difficult nervous coordi- 
nations. 

CARDS 

Cards are better than fancy work, in that they generally 
cause the person to forget her worries. 

BOWLING 

With the growing use of the schoolhouse as a social center, 
the school bowling alley may become common. There are 
already alleys at a few of our new high schools. Where there 
is opportunity for it, bowling after school may be excellent. 
There are also many cities where the men may use the bowling 
alley of the Y. M. C. A, 



102 Recreation for Teachers 

VOLLEY BALL, INDOOR BASEBALL, AND BASKET BALL 

During the winter, when it gets dark soon after four, the 
teachers may well stay after school, if there is a gymnasium, 
and play volley ball, indoor baseball, or basket ball. Basket 
ball will be found too vigorous for most teachers, but volley 
ball should not be. If the ground is lighted, volley ball can 
be played out of doors at night, also, during the entire year. 

BILLIARDS 

Few teachers have access to a billiard table in their own 
homes, and the conditions are not usually such at public 
pool and billiard rooms that women teachers can go there. I 
know of none in the Y. W. C. A. buildings, though they are 
common in the Y. M. C. A.'s. Though billiards is mentioned 
by a small percentage of the teachers, this game will probably 
always have a limited popularity. 

MOONLIGHT OUTINGS 

The distinctive condition of recreation at night is the dark- 
ness. However, during the late spring, in the Northwest it 
is light enough up to nearly ten o'clock to play most of our 
common games. But the great opportunity for evening 
recreation out of doors has always been moonlight nights. 
These have usually been appreciated and often well utilized. 
There is no other time when a row is quite so delightful, or 
when a walk through the woods or fields has a greater feeling 
of mystery and wonder than when the full moon is overhead. 
A sleigh ride, with the moonlight on the trees and snowclad 
hills, is an enchantment. 



The Teacher's Evenings 103 

PLAY AT NIGHT 

However, the conditions of evening recreation have changed 
greatly in the last decade. Within that time most of our 
new high schools and many of our elementary schools have 
secured gymnasiums. There are also splendid facilities in con- 
nection with nearly all the new Y. M. C. A. and Y. W. C. A. 
buildings. In many cities there is a system of playgrounds, 
with field houses and similar facilities, which are adequately 
lighted for evening play. With our new systems of lighting, 
it is possible to play even tennis at night, while football, 
basket ball, volley ball, and indoor baseball can be played 
nearly as well then as by day. 

THE NEED OF A SURVEY AND PLAN 

Teachers will not usually know what facilities for recreation 
exist in their city unless a recent survey has been made. 
If they are not in a position to call in an expert, they might 
make such a survey cooperatively. Bodies of water avail- 
able for rowing and fishing, swimming pools and beaches, 
tennis courts and clubs, and similar facilities should be 
included. If, when the teachers are assembled, each one is 
asked to name any swimming pool he knows of in any public 
school, Y. M. or Y. W. C. A. building, park or playground, 
a fairly complete list of such pools should be secured. A list 
of public tennis courts located either at schools, Y. M. or 
Y. W. C. A. grounds, or in the public parks might be made 
out in a similar manner. 

Not all the facilities needed can be secured at once. A 
plan should be made, which may require several decades for 
its accomplishment, with provision for a clubhouse in the 



104 Recreation for Teachers 

city, and a country club for week-ends. There should be 
charts and maps indicating the points of interest and places 
suitable for picnicking, camping, rowing, swimming, playing 
tennis, and other outdoor sports. Clear ideas and plans 
tend to execute themselves. V 

If a group of teachers wish to organize for recreation, the 
first move should be to appoint a Recreation Committee. 
This committee should collect the programs of such clubs as 
the Mazama Club of Portland, Oregon, the Sierra Club of 
San Francisco, and the Appalachian Club of Boston, study 
the rules for the excursions taken by these clubs, formulate a 
plan, and report to a later meeting. It will not be wise to 
attempt anything elaborate at first. 



CHAPTER VII 
SATURDAY 

Every teacher should get into the habit of taking at least a 
half holiday on Saturday, and this should be so much her 
custom that as soon as Saturday noon comes she will automati- 
cally throw down her work with the sense of relief which is so 
large a part of any real vacation. 

It may be necessary to the growth of teachers that they 
should study on Saturday morning, but this should not be 
allowed to carry over into the afternoon. There is no other 
profession or class that has two whole holidays each week. 
Most people have a Saturday half holiday during the summer 
only. The half holiday and Sunday should be sufficient to 
keep teachers in condition. 

The following replies from teachers in Kansas City and 
Johnstown were written in reply to the simple question, " What 
do you do on Saturday afternoons?" No names were signed. 
While the numbers represented are not large, it is believed 
that these answers are in the main trustworthy and typical. 

It will be noticed in examining these tables that a large 
proportion of the teachers in these cities do not take a half 
holiday on Saturday. A considerable proportion carry on 
school work of one kind or another, and if housework be con- 
sidered along with the occupations grouped under "work," 
it would appear that practically all teachers do some kind of 

105 



io6 Recreation for Teachers 



Activities of 230 Teachers of Kansas City, Kansas, on Saturday 

Afternoons 

school work 

Preparing school work 24 

Grade meetings 20 

Institute 2 

Music lessons * . 10 

Lectures 12 

68 

HOUSEWORK 

Sewing 87 

Mending 38 

Washing 7 

Ironing 15 

House cleaning 15 

Housework 71 

233 

SOCIAL WORK 

Settlement work 1 

Camp Fire work 2 

Church work 1 

4 

FANCY WORK 

Fancy work 9 



WORK 

Tending store 2 

Gardening 26 

Work 13 

4i 



Saturday 107 

Activities or 230 Teachers of Kansas City, Kansas, on Saturday 

Afternoons — Continued 

passive recreation 

Theater 11 

Matinees . 47 

Concerts 5 

Entertainments 5 

Reading 63 

Resting 24 

155 

SOCIAL RECREATION 

Making calls 33 

Club meetings 13 

Social q 

55 

DRIVING 

Driving 20 

SHOPPING 

Shopping 134 

EXCURSIONS 

Excursions 6 

Week-end in country 8 

Nature study 8 

Picnics 5 

27 

SPORTS 

Walking 58 

Skating 1 

Swimming 1 

Gymnasium 1 

Out-of-doors 5 

Camping __i 

67 

GAMES 

Tennis 13 



108 Recreation for Teachers 

Activities of 150 Teachers of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, on 

Saturday Afternoons 

school work 

Preparing school work 3 

Literary club ' 2 

Study . . 2 

Teaching 1 

Music lessons 1 

Art League 5 

Practicing music _3 

17 

HOUSEWORK 

Sewing 18 

Mending 8 

Ironing 1 

House cleaning 1 

Housework 22 

WORK 

Tending store 6 

Gardening . 3 

Work _6 

FANCY work 

Fancy work 1 

China painting 1 

2 

PASSIVE RECREATION 

Theater 15 

Reading 4° 

Resting 10 

Sleeping _i 

70 



Saturday 109 

Activities of 150 Teachers of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, on 
Saturday Afternoons — Continued 

SOCIAL RECREATION 

Making calls 6 

Club meetings 2 

Social £1 

DRIVING 

Motoring 2 

SHOPPING 

Shopping 78 

EXCURSIONS 

Nature study 2 

SPORTS 

Walking 40 

Skating 1 

Bathing 1 

Hunting 1 

Fishing 1 

44 

GAMES 

Tennis 1 

Games £ 

2 

work. It will be noticed, also, that passive recreations, such 
as the theater, reading, resting, and the like, are much more 
prominent than more active forms ; that practically the only 



no Recreation for Teachers 

sport that appears is walking ; while in both cities shopping 
appears as the most prominent single form of recreation. 

It is evident that this program of activities has, in the 
main, little health value. It would not help the teacher to 
fend off tuberculosis, or establish her nervous system, or 
give her the energy and vitality which she needs for her 
week's work. It is evident that Saturday afternoons in 
these two cities have not been planned for, and that the 
recreation taken is in general poorly selected and quite in- 
adequate in amount. This arises more from a lack of the 
spirit of play and planning than it does from any want of 
opportunity. 

In the country it would be well for the teachers to seek to 
develop such rural pageants and festivals as the peasant peoples 
of Europe have long had. These are well typified by the 
Harvest Festival, and usually consist in a general merrymaking 
of the whole community, with singing, dancing, and much 
light-heartedness and jollity. 

Walking Excursions 

Walking is the one form of outdoor recreation that has 
practically universal application. No teacher who is young 
enough to teach is too old to walk, although there are many 
who would not enjoy tennis or perhaps even bowling. 

Nearly all devotees of walking are accustomed to walk alone. 
Stevenson especially recommends this, and few of the famous 
walkers have sought companions. The person who walks 
by himself can go where he pleases, can travel fast or slow 
as he chooses, can meditate or whistle according to his mood. 
But, on the other hand, unless the teacher has a deep love 



Saturday 1 1 1 

of nature, she will be very likely to dwell on her school prob- 
lems unless she has some one to converse with. 

It will probably be necessary to organize a walking club if 
teachers are to walk as much as they should. This club 
should lay out a program for Saturday afternoons running 
through the entire year, with occasional two-day trips. 
There should be some one in charge of each trip whose duty 
it should be to make the necessary arrangements, and to 
be familiar with the things to be seen. 

WHEN SHALL WALKS BE TAKEN? 

We teachers are a very conventional people, and this 
question doubtless seems unnecessary. Of course the time 
to walk is about nine o'clock in the morning or two or three 
o'clock in the afternoon, so that we shall get back by lunch 
or supper time. If the weather is unpleasant, we will stay 
at home. This is a good prescription for walking with the 
least effort and seeing the things that everybody else has 
seen, but it is not a good rule for any one who would develop 
an enthusiasm for walking. The answer that I should make 
is that the time for walking is at any hour of day or night 
during every season of the year ; for the person who walks 
only in the spring will miss the glories of the autumn, and the 
person who walks only by daylight will miss the moonlight 
effects. 

From the appearance of the first faint streaks of dawn on 
the horizon until a couple of hours after sunrise in the spring is 
the most delightful time for walking. It is then, when the 
dew is on the grass, when the birds are singing and the squirrels 
are hurrying about on fences and through the treetops, that 



112 Recreation for Teachers 

nature is most attractive. It requires an effort to get up 
at three o'clock for a walk, but the reward is practically a trip 
abroad, for this morning world is nearly as strange to most of 
us as Japan or China. 

Another cardinal principle with most of us is that walking 
is for pleasant weather. Few of us would think of walking 
in a rain- or snow-storm. Nevertheless each of these has its 
attractions, and to the person who is properly clad involves 
no discomfort. A few years ago I was spending part of the 
summer in Scotland. We averaged about fourteen showers a 
day. After waiting for pleasant weather for a day or two, I 
decided that if I was to see Scotland,' I must disregard the 
weather and proceed as though all days were pleasant. I soon 
discovered that everybody else was doing the same, and 
several times I met parties on a walk of a dozen miles or so 
through a rainstorm which had lasted the entire morning. 
There is no time when one can take a pleasanter walk than 
during a heavy snowstorm, if the wind is not too strong or 
the cold too severe. When the snow slants down among the 
branches of the pine and eddies about the tree trunks, it is 
one of the most charming spectacles of nature. It will be 
noticed from the tables on pages 106 to 109 that teachers do 
not walk much during the winter; walking is apparently 
supposed to be a fall and spring activity. This is mere tradi- 
tion. A walk in the summer will not always improve the 
teacher's appearance, but a walk of an hour, a day when the 
thermometer is down to zero can be guaranteed to furnish a 
rosy complexion. Most people do not think of walking in 
warm weather, but the person who walks fast on a hot day 
develops a perspiration which cools him off. He does not 
mind the heat as much as though he were loafing. I have 



Saturday 113 

ridden a bicycle many days in succession from fifty to ninety 
miles a day when the thermometer stood at nearly a hundred 
in the shade and have never suffered from it. 

The time which seems least opportune to most of us for 
walking is at night, and yet the night has its own attractions. 
Most people appreciate a summer's evening when the stars 
are bright overhead or when the moon shines upon mountain 
peaks or lakes or snowclad hills and trees. But there is a 
charm, also, in the wildest night. Some of my pleasantest 
walks have been through blinding thunderstorms when the 
road was absolutely concealed except when flashes of lightning 
illumined it for a moment only to drown it again in darkness 
made doubly intense by the previous flash. 

THE EDUCATIONAL EXCURSION 

If the teacher is to bring a vision of the world to the child, 
she herself must have had some initiation into its mysteries 
and be in sympathetic touch with its problems. The world 
of books is vague and unreal in and of itself, except as it is 
illumined by direct contact with things. The portion of the 
earth with which we are most concerned is the one that lies 
about us. Our knowledge of it is gathered mostly through 
observation. Some day we shall require that the teacher 
be reasonably well informed in regard to the locality in which 
she is living, and that she use that locality as the key and 
interpretation to all the rest. More and more, also, we shall 
expect of teachers that they shall not merely instruct the 
children in the printed page, but that they shall also show 
them how to read the larger page of nature, and to study and 
understand the community in which they are living. 



1 14 Recreation for Teachers 

The educational excursion is not new. Of those in Boston 
Superintendent Dyer writes : 

"We have specified in our curriculum in the primary schools, first, 
second, and third grades, certain excursions, which are strongly recom- 
mended. These are to visit places of interest historically, museums, 
and places of geographical importance. There is also a small fund called 
the Hyatt Field Memorial Fund for geographical excursions to defray 
the expense of children who cannot provide their own transportation. 

"We have a Children's Museum with a fine natural history collection, 
and with profitable walks and surroundings, excursions to which are 
stimulated upon a volunteer basis. Kindergarten teachers are en- 
couraged to assist teachers of primary grades in going with their classes. 
Of course in the kindergarten the excursion is a required part of the work, 
but above the kindergarten, so much cannot be said. In my opinion 
excursions are of great benefit in order to form basal notions on the part 
of children, and especially in this vicinity in connection with history, as 
well as with nature study." 

Director Frank P. Goodwin, of the Social Centers of Cin- 
cinnati, writes as follows : 

"The school excursion has a recognized place in the curriculum, in 
connection particularly with the study of geography and local community 
life. Whether or not the children go depends upon the attitude of the 
principal and the teachers. There are very often classes from the upper 
grades who go on from one to a dozen school excursions each year. 
Classes in the upper grades visit industrial plants, commercial houses, and 
places of civic and vocational interest. Pupils of all the upper grades 
usually visit the Cincinnati Art Museum and the Zoological Garden. 

"The number of excursions does not average one trip per month for 
each child, but the development is rapid and I am of the opinion that we 
shall soon reach that average." 

Superintendent Wirt says of the work in Gary : 

"The school excursion has a recognized place in our curriculum. All 
the children in grades i to 12 go on these excursions, and the average 
number of trips is at least one per month for each child." 



Saturday 115 

Superintendent Alderman says of the work in Portland, 
Oregon : 

"We do not have regular days for excursions for our school children, 
but a great many excursions are made at the discretion of the principal. 
Visits are made regularly to the Art Museum, where the children are 
taken through and given a talk by a docent employed by the school board. 
Excursions are also made with the principal or teachers, and in many 
cases with the manual training instructors, to manufacturing plants of 
all kinds around the city. We have in mind a plan to work out some 
such school journeys as those taken by German and Japanese children, 
but the plan has not yet been perfected." 

Such excursions are taken on Saturday from all of our 
principal summer schools throughout the country. Although 
educational in their purpose, they are no less recreational on 
that account, for almost any one finds the seeing of new things 
one of the best forms of recreation. 

The walking trips should include all the principal factories 
and industries of the city, such as the car shops, the auto- 
mobile factories, the coal mines and quarries, the chicken 
ranches, etc. The owners of these industries will in general 
welcome groups of teachers to their shops and factories, and 
the teachers will find this one of the most interesting forms 
of travel. 

If it becomes the practice to take children to see the various 
factories and other industrial plants about the city, not only 
will the teachers gain a new influence through the impressions 
which they may give in regard to these institutions, but the 
social standard at these places will be raised. It will become 
a matter of pride with owners and managers that their factory 
shall be so fine as to compel favorable comment from those 
who visit it. 



n6 Recreation for Teachers 

The teacher in the city usually wishes to go to the Saturday 
matinee. I see no reason for criticizing this choice as an 
occasional form of recreation, but if instead of going to the 
theater every Saturday afternoon she should sometimes visit 
an automobile factory, or a brick kiln, or a poultry farm, she 
would probably find her afternoon just as interesting and a 
great deal more instructive. The information which she 
would get in this way would prove helpful in her school work, 
and the price of the theater ticket would still be in her purse. 

There should be geographic excursions to see the neighbor- 
ing lakes, rivers, and mountains, the forms of erosion, the 
different products raised in the locality, the forms of trans- 
portation, water power, and similar facilities. There should 
be trips to points of historic and literary interest, and others 
whose sole object is to see beautiful views. 

Probably the most delightful walks in the spring will be 
those connected with some form of nature study. Every 
teacher certainly, and most children of ten, should have a 
pretty complete collection of pressed flowers of the locality. 
Such a herbarium is easily made, is a beautiful souvenir upon 
the table, and is always of interest. 

There are also many sections of the country in which collec- 
tions of pressed flowers would have a ready sale at a good 
price. Flowers may also be mounted on heavy cardboard, 
covered with glass and passe-par touted, so as to make a 
beautiful decoration for a mantel or the wall or mounted 
between two sheets of glass as a transparency to hang against 
a window. I recently purchased a couple of daisies mounted 
in this way with a fern leaf for $1.50. The expense of mount- 
ing such a souvenir cannot be over ten or fifteen cents, and 
the time required not over ten or fifteen minutes. In places 



Saturday 117 

where there are many beautiful flowers, as there are in 
Colorado and California, such work might well become a source 
of considerable income, especially where there are resorts in 
the neighborhood. 

It is well, also, for the teacher at times to take with her a 
trowel and a basket so that she, either alone or with the chil- 
dren, may transplant to the school yard the common wild 
flowers. There are many schools which now have a pretty 
complete collection of the plants of the locality. These can 
be used constantly for nature study, for drawing and paint- 
ing, and for bouquets. Under such conditions the children 
come to have a very intimate acquaintance with flowers 
and their names become household words. To love the beauty 
of the flower is quite as important for the child as to master 
cube root. 

A year ago our small boy of six attended a school on the 
outskirts of Los Angeles. There were growing in the yard 
of this school many common wild flowers, which were used 
for nature study and bouquets. The children learned the 
names of the flowers, and my small boy became my chief 
source of information in regard to them. 

Teachers generally appreciate flowers and the desirability 
of knowing their names, but are not so much interested in 
butterflies and other insects. However, these can be mounted 
in cotton or on pins, in boxes with glass covers especially 
prepared for the purpose, at very slight expense, and are always 
interesting things to have, especially in a schoolroom. They 
are also salable, and the teacher who would get in touch with 
any of the large department stores might find these mounted 
insects in many localities a source of considerable income. I 
recently spent nearly half a day in St. Louis and afterwards 



n8 Recreation for Teachers 

about as much time in Chicago in attempting to secure some 
mounted butterflies, finding that a single large butterfly 
mounted on milkweed silk or ordinary cotton often costs from 
two to five dollars, and that plaques and trays on which but- 
terflies, dragon flies, and other beautiful insects were mounted 
on milkweed silk, under glass, might cost fifteen or twenty 
dollars. Such a collection is ofttimes very beautiful. 

Every school and probably every classroom ought to have 
a small museum showing both the flora and the fauna and 
the common rocks and minerals of the locality. Children 
are intensely interested in making such a collection, as the 
teacher should also be. 

One of the pleasantest occasions for getting out of doors is 
the bird walk. Children will be glad to join you on such trips, 
and the knowledge acquired will be directly beneficial. Many 
teachers are now keeping a record of the appearance in the 
spring of the different birds on their northern migrations, and 
the time of their leaving for the South in the fall. If this 
can be supplemented by the making of bird houses at school 
and the feeding of birds on the window sill or elsewhere, it 
will often add much to the interest of the school work, as 
well as give the children the proper attitude toward the birds. 

In taking a bird study walk, it is an advantage for the 
teacher to have a pair of field or opera glasses. If she will 
carry also a small tablet or card and put down the names of 
all the birds seen, she will probably be surprised to find how 
many she can list in one afternoon. She should soon get a 
fairly complete list of the birds of the locality, and know 
their names and something of their habits. It is always of 
interest to notice the kind of nests which different birds 
make, and the materials which they use, the way they protect 



Saturday 119 

their nests and the way their method of nest-building has grown 
out of their manner of life, especially their method of securing 
food. 

To develop a love of nature and learn her secrets, the person 
must live with her. Naturalists are accustomed to go into 
the woods and there sit perfectly still until all the wild things 
come around them, regarding them as peaceable members of 
the wood community. All wild creatures are suspicious of 
anything that moves, especially when it is large and apparently 
dangerous ; they will not reveal many of their secrets unless 
one will sit among them until they feel acquainted. One will 
often be surprised to find within half an hour how life teems 
in a section where there seemed to be no living thing at the 
time he came. 

OTHER TRIPS 

All of these excursions should be enjoyed, for the fact that 
they have an ulterior object should make them more rather 
than less interesting. The gratification of the instincts of 
curiosity and discovery is one of the universal forms of play. 
We thus play hide-and-seek with nature. But, besides the 
specific educational journeys, there are many other trips 
which the teacher should take. 

In most sections there is an opportunity in the fall to go 
nutting with the children. Such an excursion, with the 
climbing of the trees to shake off the nuts, the gathering of 
them from the ground, and the eating of a picnic dinner, is 
enjoyed by all children and all child-minded people. 

In the fall a corn roast is a good excuse for an outing. 
I have often taken a party of two or three hundred teachers 
out on a three or four mile walk, with a corn roast at the end. 



120 Recreation for Teachers 

We have played games and had a delightful supper, singing 
songs afterwards and returning together in the evening. 
Almost any one who is not overcivilized will enjoy such a trip. 

Still more universal in its appeal is the picnic, for it is 
possible wherever shade and water may be found, either in 
the fall or the spring. Unless the weather is very hot there 
should be a bonfire. If bacon or frankfurters are roasted, 
they will add to the supper, and a few toasted marshmallows 
serve as an excellent dessert. 

Any of these outings may be taken in connection with a 
canoe trip or a trolley ride ; but in some localities a trip by 
carriage or automobile will be necessary. 

Recreation Programs 

As we have tried to indicate, where there is no plan for the 
recreational life of teachers, they tend to follow the line of 
least resistance and fall into forms of recreation which are 
largely passive. The best test of the Saturday's recreation is 
that it shall leave the teacher so well rested that she goes 
back to her work on Monday morning in as good condition as 
she was at the beginning of the year, and that her weariness 
shall not increase with the weeks of school. If this result is 
to be accomplished, the recreation of the year must be planned 
and outlined, and many outdoor forms must be provided. 
It might, at first, be difficult to make up a full year's program, 
but as these trips develop and programs expand, it should be 
possible in time to frame a series which might run through 
several years without repetition. 

A program should naturally begin with trips to points of 
interest in the city and its immediate environment. The 



Saturday 121 

next series very likely would be from centers along trolley 
lines, where the walk to some point of interest would start 
at a distance of ten to twenty miles from the city ; or it 
might be from some point along a railroad line, or a place 
to which the party would be taken by automobiles. If 
each year the series of outings were printed, the file, in the 
course of ten or twenty years, should include a pretty complete 
list of all the points of interest within thirty or forty miles of 
any city. It would be found, in most localities, that this 
list would include pretty nearly every kind of thing that can 
be seen anywhere in the world, except a few cathedrals, 
historic battlefields, and the like. 

For the guidance of those who are planning recreation 
programs, some of the rules from the Mazama Mountain Club 
of Portland, Oregon, are given below, as well as sample out- 
lines of local walks from various cities. 

RULES OF THE MAZAMA MOUNTAIN CLUB OF PORTLAND, 
OREGON, WITH RESPECT TO LOCAL WALKS 

Each person attending the local walks is expected to observe the fol- 
lowing rules and recommendations : 

1. Leader. The leader will usually wear a blue and white hatband 
during the trip. He will walk at the head of the party, the others fol- 
lowing. He may appoint one or more lieutenants to assist him in con- 
ducting the trip, and he should have the cooperation of these lieutenants 
and of the party in general. His telephone number will be given for the 
convenience of those seeking particular information about the coming 
trip. 

3. Discipline and Deportment. All persons on the Sunday trips 
are expected to refrain from all boisterous conduct and loud noise, and 
to observe respect for the Sabbath. 

It is not to be lost sight of that the Mazama organization is one with 
high ideals, and that there must be dignity of deportment in keeping 



122 Recreation for Teachers 

with its standards. These requirements are particularly to be observed 
where the party comes in contact with the general public, and when 
special cars are not used. Fences and other property must not be dam- 
aged and gates must be closed. 

5. Clothing and Equipment. As a rule, no special attire is needed 
for the half-day walks, though the committee recommends clothing 
suitable for the woods. Low-heeled, comfortable shoes are a necessity. 
On all-day hikes, stout or outing clothing should be worn, and stout 
boots, which are better if fitted with Hungarian or hob nails. On the 
camping trips, each person must furnish his own blanket, suitable to the 
weather conditions. An electric flash light or a carbide light is a very 
great convenience at night in camp. 

6. Lunch. On all-day trips, each person must take his own lunch, 
or in case a commissary is provided, pay his proportional part. He 
should take cup, spoon, and knife and fork. The leader will usually ar- 
range for hot coffee for lunch. It is a Mazama principle to leave camp 
sites in good order and all are requested to share in this responsibility. 

It is very desirable that each person carry a full-sized cup for drinking 
along the way, as well as for use at lunch, so that he need not depend on 
the courtesy of others. 

8. Route. The walkers are expected to arrive at the meeting place 
promptly in order to begin each walk at the appointed hour. The leader 
may mark turns or indistinct trails by scattering pieces of paper. Red 
paper strewn along, or pieces of red cloth tied to convenient objects, will 
be distinctive marks for Mazama trails. 

9. Scenic Points. All are reminded that one object of these trips 
is the viewing of the many natural scenic attractions found along the 
way ; therefore, each one should be watchful for these attractions, and 
instead of hurrying over the walk, should stop long enough at the prom- 
inent viewpoints to enjoy the beauties of nature. 

10. Nature Studies. In order that all may avail themselves of 
the splendid opportunities afforded on many of the outings to study 
nature at first hand, whenever arrangements can be made some qualified 
person will be assigned to point out the features of educational value and 
to lead in a discussion of them. Where localities of historical interest 
are visited, talks on their significance will be invited. 



Saturday 123 

OUTLINES OF LOCAL WALKS 

From Portland, Oregon. Mazama Mountain Club. 

No. 12. Moonlight walk, Wed., Mar. 7. Washington Park — 
Arlington Heights. Meet at 23d and Washington streets at 8.00 p.m. 
Walk through Washington Park, over Arlington Heights, and follow 
trail along ridge of hill between Canyon and Barnes roads. Return to 
city by Barnes Road. Affords fine view of city by moonlight. Walk 

about five miles. 

Nettie G. Richardson, leader. 

From San Francisco, California. Sierra Club. 

15. June 23d (Saturday) — Rattlesnake Camp. Take 8.15 a.m. 
Sausalito boat and train for Mill Valley. Walk via Pipe Line to Rattle- 
snake Camp and lunch. Return via Bootjack Trail and Muir Woods 
to Mill Valley. Distance, 11 miles. Round trip to Mill Valley, 40 cents. 

Dorothy Doyle, leader. 

From New York. Appalachian Mountain Club. 

April 14, White Plains. N. Y. Westchester and Boston R. R., 133d 
St. and Willis Ave., at 1.48 p.m. (shuttle train from 129th St. on Third 
Avenue El.). Buy ticket one way to White Plains, 25 cents. Back 
country roads. About 6 miles. N. Y. at 5.53. 

Mary Goddard Potter, 
Mae H. Beattys. 

From Boston. Appalachian Mountain Club. 

Thursday, April 19. Patriots' Day. North Station, 9.35 a.m., 

for Rockport, Cape Ann, Pigeon Cove, and Annisquam. 8.5 miles, 

shore and road. Boston from Gloucester 6.25. Bring lunch and cup. 

Coffee and wagon provided. 

H. E. Grigor, 

H. H. Whitney. 

Every city should have a schedule of excursions similar to 
these. It is not to be expected that a hundred per cent of the 
teachers will go ; even if only five or ten per cent do, it will 



124 Recreation for Teachers 

still be worth while. A new esprit de corps will develop, 
and the teachers who participate will be benefited both 
physically and socially. If the membership is not limited to 
teachers, these trips may be a means of introducing a new 
enthusiasm for outdoor life into the whole community. 

A County Recreation Survey 

In planning such a schedule we are met by the almost in- 
superable objection that no one in the locality knows what the 
points of interest are, and that the teachers usually consider 
that there is nothing of interest in the neighborhood. In 
order that the teachers may have a plan for satisfactory 
recreation covering the year, it is necessary that they should 
know what the attractions of the vicinity are. The prep- 
aration of such a local Baedeker would seem to belong 
logically to the county superintendent. He is interested in 
the welfare of the teachers, and in visiting schools he becomes 
acquainted with actual conditions. The Wandervogel of 
Germany and various other walking associations have been 
working for nearly a generation upon local walking maps, 
until now there are such maps for nearly every section, showing 
the condition of the roads, the points of interest, the places 
where fires can be built and water secured, the best places 
for spending the night, and the like. It ought to be possible 
for the superintendent to issue such a guide without the ex- 
penditure of much time or money. Perhaps he should begin 
by sending to all of the teachers a brief questionnaire somewhat 
like the following. 

Will you please describe and locate any point or points of historic, 
literary, or scenic interest in this county with which you may be 



Saturday 125 

familiar; also any interesting industrial features, such as factories, 
stock farms, poultry farms, new crops, mines, quarries, water-power 
developments, and the like ; also points of geographic interest, as valleys 
of creeks or rivers showing interesting forms of erosion, strata, and the 
like. 

From the information gathered in this way, combined with 
the knowledge of the county superintendents and deputies, 
it should be possible to make up a pretty complete inventory. 
Then, a list should be made of all the common birds with 
which teachers should be acquainted, one of the common 
flowers, and one of the common rocks and minerals. There 
should also be some general map showing rivers, lakes, resorts, 
forests, mountains, and the like, the roads and their condition, 
places suitable for picnics and bonfires, and places where one 
might spend the night, with prices. 

The Automobile 

Comparatively few teachers appreciate the opportunities for 
good times which are brought to their doors through the auto- 
mobile. Yet any place within fifty miles, along a good 
highway, can be reached in two or three hours; and within 
fifty miles of almost every city or town in the United States 
there are dozens if not hundreds of places of scenic, literary, 
historic, geographic, or industrial interest. Within this 
range, also, are dozens of splendid places for hunting and. 
fishing, for gathering flowers, for camping out, and similar 
activities. The person with an automobile is the true knight 
errant of the present, and the world lies before him. 

It is not always realized, although it is an actual fact, that 
the auto is much our cheapest mode of transportation. The 



126 Recreation for Teachers 

entire cost, including gasoline, lubricating oil, and depre- 
ciation, for a company of five, should not exceed three cents a 
mile on the best roads ; and probably not more than five 
cents, or a cent a mile for each passenger, on such roads as 
are generally found throughout the country. 

It is suggested that teachers organize themselves into auto 
clubs in any way that proves convenient and congenial to 
themselves. Each company should contain a driver, and if 
possible also an automobile owner. This is not strictly neces- 
sary, however, as an automobile with driver can often be 
hired for the day for from five to seven dollars, and a distance 
of ioo to 150 miles may be covered. 

Recently the writer drove with four teachers from the 
University of Nevada at Reno around Lake Tahoe in Cali- 
fornia, a trip of 150 miles. We started early and bought our 
breakfast at a railroad restaurant along the way for about 
fifty cents each. Reaching the lake at a little after ten, we 
spent an hour or so at the main pier and the big hotel, purchas- 
ing souvenirs and admiring the views down the lake. We 
drove on to Emerald Bay and had a picnic dinner at Cascade 
Falls. After a stay of about an hour, we went on around the 
lake to Inspiration Point, where the road is carried on a 
platform at a height of about 400 feet along the edge of a 
sheer cliff overhanging the lake. Here we saw a storm sweep 
down the lake and had a wonderful view of the mountains 
on the other side partially hidden by mists and clouds. All 
along the way, both coming and going, there was a riot of wild 
flowers of many varieties and hues, and much of the way back 
lay along a narrow road some thousand or more feet above 
the valley. We stopped at Carson City and saw the Governor 
for a few minutes, had a fine swim, and ate our dinner at one 



Saturday 127 

of the warm baths near Reno, and reached home at about 
eight o'clock. The entire expense of the trip was about $2.25 
for each person. 

The Aeroplane 

It may seem premature to offer any suggestions in regard to 
recreation by means of the aeroplane, yet as soon as the war 
is over there will be an enormous number of machines and 
aviators available for commercial and pleasure travel, so 
that the rapid development of air traffic is almost certain. 
Even to-day there is an air route laid out between Dayton, 
Ohio, and Indianapolis, Indiana, with lighting places every 
seven miles for landing and for repairs and supplies. A simi- 
lar route is now being laid out from the Pacific Coast to New 
York, and it seems possible that the time is not far distant 
when such routes will be common. Mr. Wright is now work- 
ing on a device to enable his machine to start and stop in a 
shorter space, and he says that travel by aeroplane will soon 
be nearly as cheap and practicable as by automobile. 

The aeroplane puts the world at the disposal of the aviator 
as no other vehicle can possibly do. He is tied to no routes, 
and can travel at a speed of 150 miles an hour. Within the 
next five years it may be possible to have breakfast in New 
York and supper in London, or if one chooses to explore, to 
have his breakfast in Boston and his supper in Greenland, and 
the next day be chasing polar bears around the North Pole. 
However, it seems likely that aviation will be the sport of the 
rich for the next decade at least, rather than the pastime of 
school teachers. 



128 Recreation for Teachers 

Hunting and Fishing 

It may be said that thus far we have slighted the men in 
our planning, for we have usually spoken of the teacher in 
the feminine gender, though most of the recreations suggested 
are equally well suited to men. 

Fifty years ago it might have been said that almost the 
only forms of recreation in America were hunting and fishing, 
and even to-day, outside of automobiling, these are the 
principal forms for rural men and boys. 

Hunting has often been criticized as a cruel sport. How- 
ever, no one familiar with hunters could regard them as 
brutal. Comparing our methods of killing domestic animals 
with our methods of killing wild animals, there is no creature 
which would not prefer to die as do the latter. To be caught 
like a pig in a pen and stuck with a knife has none of the 
sport of struggle or the thrill of escape through which all 
present species have survived. The pig has no chance ; he 
cannot escape, and there is a sordidness about his death 
which is entirely lacking from the fate of the deer or the 
rabbit, which matches its wits against those of the hunter, 
though it comes to grief in the contest. 

If the people of America should agree that from this time 
on no one would hunt, rabbits would find it no more delightful 
to be caught by foxes and wolves, skunks and weasels, hawks 
and eagles, and other predatory animals, which know no closed 
season, than to be laid low in the man-led hunt. The hunting 
of men has more of tenderness in it than the denizens of the 
wild themselves employ. We must remember in this connec- 
tion the story of the woman who was boiling the lobsters alive. 
Some one came along and asked her if it was not cruel to cook 



Saturday 129 

them in this way, and she replied : "Oh, they don't mind it; 
they are used to it ; we always cook them so." If all animals 
as well as man should cease to hunt, the time would not be 
far distant when overproduction would mean wholesale star- 
vation ; and slow death by starvation is much more dreadful 
than the swift impact of the bullet. 

Hunting has much to recommend it as a form of recreation. 
It takes the sportsman into the woods, gives him abundant 
exercise, teaches him to observe, and often leads to a serene 
mind. The hunter of to-day, when game has become scarce, 
must find a day spent in the woods a reward in itself. He may 
sit down on a log or a stone and watch the wild creatures 
about him until he learns many of their secrets. We must 
remember that the pioneers were all hunters, and this was 
true alike of the Cavaliers of the South and the Puritans of 
the North. It was this type of men who made America 
and fashioned its ideals. 

The Revolutionary War, although it found the men of 
America without knowledge of military tactics and drills, 
still found them not unprepared because they had learned to 
shoot, and knowing how to shoot is about half of military 
preparedness. There is likely to be a new enthusiasm for 
hunting resulting from the military training which is coming 
in. Perhaps in the interest of this preparedness all the shot- 
guns should be gathered in and scrapped, and hunting should 
be allowed only with a rifle. This would prevent the imme- 
diate destruction of our smaller game, and would at the same 
time teach hunters to shoot straight. 

There are many who do not care to hunt with a gun 
who might be very much interested in hunting with a camera. 
It is not easy to get good pictures of animals and birds 



130 Recreation for Teachers 

in their native haunts, and it requires much skill and 
patience, but a real lover of nature will find his efforts well 
repaid. 

Although a milder sport than hunting, fishing has a some- 
what broader appeal, largely because there are many more 
women who like to fish than there are who care to hunt. 
Fishing, like hunting, appeals to one of the fundamental 
instincts through which the race has survived. It stirs the 
imagination and awakens portions of the mind which would 
sleep on forever were it not for this special stimulation. It 
also is an excellent form of recreation. The person who sits 
idly at the waterside may carry his cares with him ; but the 
person who goes forth with rod and line to drop his hook 
where even a few nibbles reveal the presence of fish, is not 
usually so troubled. Our hunting and fishing instinct is so 
strong that at the first bite our cares are forgotten and we 
think only of the sport. 

List of Recreative Activities for Saturday Afternoon 

This chapter has covered only a few of the many activities that 
may be carried on on Saturday afternoons. Other activities 
will be found in the chapters which have gone before or which 
follow. The complete list includes such activities as the 
following : 

In the Fall: Fishing 

Canoeing Swimming 

Rowing Walking 

Sailing Driving 

Motor-boating Motoring 

Hunting Horseback riding 



Saturday 



131 



Bicycling 

Educational excursions to 
factories and other points 
of interest 

Picnics 

Corn roasts 

Nutting trips 

Bonfires 

Camping out 

Kodaking 

Games, as football, basket 
ball, volley ball, indoor 
baseball, handball, bowl- 
ing, and tennis 

Playing games with children 

Reading 

Picture shows 

Musicales 

Theaters 

Visiting 

In the Winter: 
Walking 
Snowshoeing 
Skiing 
Sleighing 
Motoring 
Skating 
Tobogganing 
Games indoors, as basket ball, 

volley ball, indoor baseball, 



handball, bowling, bil- 
liards, cards 

Games outdoors, as hockey 
and soccer football 

Games with children 

Swimming 

Moving pictures 

Musicales 

Theater 

Visiting 

Reading 

I : the Spring: 

Walking 

Canoeing 

Rowing 

Sailing 

Motor-boating 

Bicycling 

Horseback riding 

Motoring 

Excursions for bird study, 
collection of flowers, col- 
lection of insects 

Geographic and industrial ex- 
cursions 

Picnics 

Bonfires 

Camping out, etc. 

Outdoor games, as playing 
games with children 



132 Recreation for Teachers 

Indoor baseball Visiting 

Volley ball Dancing 

Basket ball Moving pictures 

Handball Musicales 

Hunting and fishing Theater 
Cards 



CHAPTER VIII 
SUNDAY 

Sunday is one of the greatest institutions of our civili- 
zation. It allows us to drop for a time our work and worries 
and brings rest and rebuilding. We come back refreshed on 
Monday with a new perspective, to find, ofttimes, that the 
perils that beset our path have disappeared. We do not 
usually think of Sunday as a day of recreation, and yet in the 
large meaning of the word it is the one great day of re-creation 
throughout Christendom. 

One cannot do better in this connection than to quote from 
the De Coverley Papers the sentiments of Sir Roger in regard 
to a country Sunday. 

"I am always very well pleased with a country Sunday, and think, if 
keeping holy the seventh day were only a human institution, it would be 
the best method that could have been thought of for the polishing and 
civilizing of mankind. It is certain the country people would soon de- 
generate into a kind of savages and barbarians were there not such fre- 
quent returns of a stated time in which the whole village meet together 
with their best faces, and in their cleanest habits, to converse with one 
another upon indifferent subjects, hear their duties explained to them, 
and join together in adoration of the Supreme Being. Sunday clears 
away the rust of the whole week, not only as it refreshes in their minds 
the notions of religion, but as it puts both the sexes upon appearing in 
their most agreeable forms, and exerting all such qualities as are apt to 
give them a figure in the eye of the village. A country fellow distin- 
guishes himself as much in the church-yard as a citizen does upon the 

133 



134 Recreation for Teachers 

Change, the whole parish politics being generally discussed in that place, 
either after sermon or before the bell rings." 

Rest 

Sunday is the one day which is reserved from toil for the 
great majority of people, and the only time for the recreation 
of many. Rest is a large element in all recreation, and Sun- 
day is a day of rest for several reasons. People do not get 
up as early as at other times. There comes with Sunday a 
feeling of relaxation, that it is not necessary to go to the regu- 
lar task, that there is no beckoning finger or impelling goad 
which drives us on to labor. This sense of relief, the feeling 
that there is nothing which must be done, is in itself of tre- 
mendous value. 

Not only have we a sense that we have escaped from the 
necessity of labor, but we do everything in a more deliberate 
way ; even the walking on the streets is not so rapid as on 
other days. The automobilists do not go so fast, the coach- 
man and driver instinctively take a slower pace. We even 
read more slowly, and this slowing of the mind and all other 
activities down to their normal pace is in itself a great saving 
of energy. 

We all instinctively find relief from care and worry, to 
some extent at least, on Sunday, though this is fully accom- 
plished only when there is also in the day an element of reli- 
gion. 

Worship 

Six teachers of the Flint group mention going to church 
as one of their chief forms of recreation. Most of the elements 
which enter into church attendance are recreative. The 



Sunday 135 

"dressing up," the leisurely walk, the observation of other 
people who are on their way, the Sabbath greetings, and the 
social atmosphere of the occasion, are genuinely recreative, 
as are also the conversation at church and the music. In the 
church everything is restful. The dim light, the low music, 
the quiet, the decorum with which everything is carried on, 
tend almost inevitably to a quiet and poise of mind which are 
essential to self-knowledge and to the deeper needs of the 
spirit. 

Perhaps the services of the Catholic and the English 
churches are on the whole more restful than those in the 
Evangelical churches, for a deep emotional tone pervades 
the responses and the edifices themselves, which is peculiarly 
soothing to the spirit. 

Even though our attachment to the church is superficial 
and we go to show our new bonnets and clothes rather than 
to find inspiration and peace, the spirit of the service reaches 
down to every one, in greater or less degree. Most of us have 
at least a faint sense of fatherly care and drop our worries 
more or less as a result of the service and prayer. 

It is unfortunate that we have here so few great cathedrals, 
for there is something in the cathedral's gloom and beauty 
which is peculiarly soothing and inspiring. To sit for an hour 
amidst the vast arches, the great statuary, the wonderful 
windows and paintings of a great European cathedral is to 
be immersed in the very spirit of worship and of peace. 

During the Middle Ages the church held frequent fiestas 
and pageants and religious holidays, and these provided 
nearly all the social and recreational opportunities which the 
people had. 

Then there were the pilgrimages to the Holy Land and to 



136 Recreation for Teachers 

the various shrines scattered over Europe; these were the 
great adventures and offered the main opportunities for ro- 
mance and travel. 

Perhaps no better opportunity for rest is ever offered than 
comes through the monasteries and convents of Catholic 
countries. It is the custom of many Catholic people to go 
to these convents and monasteries during Lent or at some 
other time when they wish to recuperate from hard work, 
or from a strenuous social season. The religious atmosphere 
about these old buildings leads to quiet and meditation. 

It would be good for us all if we could occasionally spend 
a week at a place of this type. Perhaps some day we shall 
be wise enough to build modern monasteries, or cure halls, 
or sanitariums, or whatever you will, where people may 
go for quiet and rest and meditation, amid scenes which sug- 
gest the great events of the past or the beauty and the wonder 
of the present. Valley Forge, for instance, or the site of the 
Temple to the Pioneers along the Columbia Highway, or some 
mountain top, might be an admirable site for such a temple 
of contemplation and re very. 

Active Recreation 

There are many who feel that any form of active recreation 
on Sunday is inappropriate. But the unquestionable tend- 
ency of the present is in the other direction. We are breaking 
away from the blue laws of Connecticut and the Sunday of 
the Pilgrims and Puritans to a Sunday which, as Jesus said, 
was made for man. The Fourth Commandment says "In 
it thou shalt not do any work" but does not prohibit play. 

The European Sabbath has usually consisted of two parts 



Sunday 137 

— a holy day and a holiday. The morning has been devoted 
to religion, and the afternoon to play. Nearly all the great 
athletic festivals and very many at least of the great dances 
have taken place on Sunday afternoon or evening. 

The changing opinion is indicated by the fact that, while 
Sunday baseball was forbidden in most of our cities two dec- 
ades ago, there are now many cities where official baseball, 
on Sunday afternoon, is promoted by the city fathers. I have 
recently seen a Presbyterian minister out coaching his own 
ball team on Sunday afternoon. A large number of our 
municipal playgrounds are open on Sunday, and in some of 
our cities the playgrounds and swimming pools at the schools 
are also open. 

However, for the adult it does not seem as though active 
forms of recreation were the most profitable for this day. 
The teacher is in a unique position in that she has two holi- 
days every week, and plenty of other time for her active 
play. 

There are certain forms of recreation which have always 
been held appropriate for Sunday, although we have not 
always recognized them as play. Among these may be 
mentioned visits to art galleries, which are so common in all 
of our cities that Sunday is always the "big day." There is 
an intimate connection between admiration and adoration, 
between beauty and worship ; the effect upon the spirit of 
looking at a beautiful picture or landscape is very similar to 
that of worship. 

Sunday afternoon is the time when most families go for 
walks in the city parks, as it is the time also for country walks. 
A mountain top or a high hill is a peculiarly appropriate ob- 
jective. 



138 Recreation for Teachers 

A walk is planned for every Sunday afternoon by the 
Mazama Club of Portland, Oregon. Teachers participate 
in many of these walks. The following are two examples : 

Sunday, Nov. 12. Parkrose-Columbia Trip. Leave 5th and 
Washington streets on the Rose City car at 1.15 p.m.; go to end of 
line and take Parkrose carline to its end. Walk out Sandy Road one 
or one and a half miles, thence north across fields to Columbia River, 
thence down the river two miles, thence back to East 826. street to take 
street-car. Walk about seven miles. 

Sunday, Dec. 17. Oregon City-Oswego Trip. Leave on Oregon 
City car at 1.00 p.m. and go to Oregon City. Cross to westerly side 
of the Willamette, view the falls, then tramp over the river road to 
Oswego, where take train arriving in city at 5.20 p.m. Walk of seven 
miles. Railroad fare, 40 j£. 

Society 

Sunday is a social day. It is the only time during the week 
when there is no call of business to take the father from home, 
no school lessons to drive the children into seclusion. 

Sunday afternoon is the time when the largest number of 
automobiles are in use. For the stranger teacher with no 
automobile and no family connections, it may be a period of 
great loneliness ; but if she can go for the afternoon to the 
woods to gather flowers or to commune with herself, this may 
be her one way to peace and to that mental poise and calm 
which He at the basis of all great natures. 

For the teacher's own welfare the rural custom of going 
home on Friday night to spend Sunday is excellent, if it 
does not involve too much housework for the returning 
daughter, because it brings a change of thought with the 
change of environment and allows the home circle to be drawn 
together. From the point of view of the school and the com- 



Sunday 139 

munity, however, it is not best for the teacher to spend all 
of her Sundays in this way. 

Sunday afternoon and evening furnish the opportunities 
for most of the love-making among teachers, as among others. 
There is something in the spirit of the day which makes it 
peculiarly appropriate for it. It is also a decided safeguard 
against those perils which surround intimacy between the 
sexes. 

Reading 

Many teachers are accustomed to save up their reading 
as well as their letter-writing for Sunday. This is all right 
if they do not then feel a sense of obligation in regard to it 
and can read or write in much the spirit in which a person 
would take a stroll on Sunday afternoon. 

We are peculiarly addicted to the Sunday newspaper in 
America, but this cannot be approved. The newspaper repre- 
sents the essence of those cares and worries from which we 
should escape on Sunday. We cannot expect that most 
people will devote their Sundays to reading the Bible, 
though it is desirable even from the recreational point of 
view that every one should spend part of the day in this 
way. But if we will read some inspiring poem or essay or 
any form of literature which has a somewhat less realistic 
or sordid point of view than we find in the daily papers, it 
will be better for us. 

The Old-time Sabbath 

The old-time Sabbath extended from sundown to sundown. 
There is something to be said for a Sabbath of this kind, for 
the reason that the person is apt to throw off his cares and 



140 Recreation for Teachers 

sense of effort as soon as his work is done on Saturday ; he 
feels then as though his time to rest had come. Moreover, 
with the coming of Sunday evening, there is a sense of the 
approach of new duties, and the teacher often feels that she 
must spend some time then in going over her lessons for the 
coming week. Perhaps we should have a better Sunday if 
we went back to the old-time standard and had it begin at 
six o'clock Saturday evening and end at six o'clock Sunday 
evening. 

In regard to recreation, the teacher may well occupy the 
golden mean. As a day of rest Sunday is necessary to her 
nervous stability and her mental sanity and growth. Even 
if she is studying and teaching at the same time, she must 
not devote much of this day to mental work. 

The riotous, boisterous day, filled with that kind of merri- 
ment which one sometimes finds among rather frivolous 
young people, is condemned as recreation no less than as a 
Sabbath, for it does not permit, much less promote, that 
mental peace and quietude which are so essential to the de- 
velopment of poise and personality. 

But we must condemn no less the type of Sunday which 
shuts youth up in a sort of prison and forbids it to do anything 
enjoyable. The Puritan Sabbath does not furnish the kind 
of relief that is needed, and it inevitably leads to a hatred of 
the day and often of religion itself, on the part of the young. 
Jesus, as well as his followers, went from place to place on 
Sunday, the same as on other days. Indeed, they sometimes 
violated, for good cause, the Sunday regulations of the time 
so that they were severely criticized by the scribes and 
Pharisees. 



CHAPTER IX 

THE WEEK-ENDS AND SHORT VACATIONS 

In other chapters we have dealt with recreation on Saturday 
and Sunday, but the problem of the week-end is somewhat 
different from that of the two days that compose it. The 
week-end means the time from the close of school on Friday 
to the beginning of school on Monday, which is three nights 
and somewhat more than two full days. Treated as a unit, 
it is a third of a week and enough to constitute a short vaca- 
tion in itself. 

While we should not recommend the week-end outing as 
a regular thing for teachers, there are days when Heaven 
" tries the earth if it be in tune," when it seems almost a 
sacrilege to stay indoors, and when the teacher may be 
justified in deserting church to be with nature in fields and 
forests. 

Then there are times when the teacher has personal prob- 
lems to solve, when she needs to get away from her family and 
friends and be by herself. Such an opportunity as the week- 
end affords may be essential to her poise and peace of mind. 
There are times, too, when she is overwearied, when the 
school and the children have begun to jar upon her, and when 
she feels that she is slipping back in health. At such times 
a week-end in the country or in the mountains will often do 
wonders to set her on her feet. 

141 



142 Recreation for Teachers 

Week-end Travel 

by TRAIN 

In the majority of my work I spend five days in a locality, 
leaving for my next appointment on Friday night. As soon 
as I have left the scene of my labors I throw off all tension, 
and the next two days are days of complete ease of mind. 
To many teachers such a trip occasionally would bring great 
relief. 

BY TROLLEY 

Throughout New England, Indiana, Ohio, and parts of 
Illinois, almost any town within a hundred miles can be visited 
by trolley. Traveling in this way you need not go to the 
city but can stop off where you will. A few years ago we 
spent most of the summer at Worcester, Massachusetts, and 
took our recreation in trolley rides. We went to nearly every 
town within twenty miles and to a good many that were 
farther away. We found the rides interesting, and by tak- 
ing walks from the places to which we trolleyed we could 
cover nearly every country road and every factory within 
a twenty-mile radius. The trolley car does pretty well for 
an automobile if you have no other at command. 

BY BOAT 

There is no outing that is more delightful than a boat trip, 
especially a trip on a river. Along most of our navigable 
streams boats run during the warmer weather, making trips 
which vary from an hour in length to two or three days. Out- 
side the meals and stateroom, the expense of these trips is 



The Week-ends and Short Vacations 143 

usually slight. A group of teachers who will take their lunch 
together may have a splendid time in this way, at very slight 
expense, on almost any Saturday from April to November. 

If there is a congenial party, perhaps a trip in a motor boat, 
with fishing, camping, and cooking, may bring as complete 
relief as anything that can be suggested. 

ON HORSEBACK 

In the South it is often feasible for teachers in either 
town or country to go on horseback for a ride of a couple of 
days. The objective may be some resort or the home of a 
friend twenty or twenty-five miles distant. Horseback rid- 
ing is stimulating enough to almost compel one to lay aside 
his worries. 

BY AUTOMOBILE 

The automobile is increasing in popularity and cheapness. 
It has already become one of our greatest means of trans- 
portation, and with good roads it will probably soon be the very 
greatest. We have scarcely begun to realize the possibilities 
of the automobile in the way of travel. We have envied the 
railroad president and millionaire who were able to journey 
about with their friends in their own private car, but Mr. 
Ford has made their joy possible for any one who has 
#450 at his disposal. If a group of teachers will 
cooperate for automobile travel, this is much cheaper than 
the railroad. In any section with good roads it should be 
possible for a group of five to hire an automobile for two days 
for ten dollars, provided one of them is a capable chauffeur 
herself. It makes a pleasant outing to drive a hundred 



144 Recreation for Teachers 

miles to the city, attend the theater Saturday night, go to 
church Sunday morning, and come back in time for supper 
Sunday evening. Such a trip, including all expense of meals 
and hotel bill and theater, should not cost more than five 
dollars for each and might cost a dollar or so less. 

In pleasant weather it might be more stimulating to carry 
a tent and camp out for the night. It should be possible to 
visit many places of interest in the way of factories and other 
industrial developments along the way, and to make collec- 
tions of flowers, study birds, and the like. 

An automobile can be so made that the front seat folds 
back into a bed. If a mattress and bedclothes are carried 
on a trailer or in a dust-proof package, this will furnish the 
necessities for two or three who could not sleep in the auto- 
mobile. 

During week-ends most of the beaches of Southern Cali- 
fornia are thronged with autoists from the cities. In many 
cases they sleep in their autos, and they often carry a special 
tarpaulin which is thrown over the car so as to make a tent 
at the side. In many cases, also, a strip of canvas is run 
around the automobile so that it may be used as a bathing 
booth when the occupants wish to go swimming. 

ON FOOT 

But after all, the pleasantest way to travel is afoot. The 
best books of travel that have ever been written have been 
books on this subject. There is no other method which enables 
one to become a part of the country to the same extent. It 
is often desirable to pursue a course parallel with a trolley 
line, so that one can ride at any time that he becomes tired, 



The Week-ends and Short Vacations 145 

though if the party is not too large, the passing automobile 
offers a still better method of relief. 

The rural teacher has peculiar advantages for walking, 
because she is in an environment of nature, away from hard 
sidewalks, automobiles, street cars, and everything which 
jars upon the nerves. Walking upon an unyielding surface 
is not restful, as a country road ordinarily is. 

While the teacher should live in the community in which 
she is teaching and become a vital part of it, there can be no 
objection to her walking home on certain week-ends when 
she lives in the neighborhood. Most teachers would not wish 
to walk far Friday evening, but along any well-traveled road 
a twenty-mile walk is a simple proposition, because one is 
sure to catch a ride most of the way. It involves no serious 
hardship either for the teacher to start from her school at 
four o'clock, walk until half past six, have a picnic supper 
by the roadside, and walk on until she reaches home, though 
of course the pleasanter way would ordinarily be to start 
out on Saturday morning for a long walk of this kind. 

The country roadsides of America, to one who has learned 
to see, are always full of interest. They do not suggest the 
historic legends that gather around so many spots in Europe ; 
there are no castles and few historic battle fields; but for 
one who is interested in a developing country and its resources 
and products, no roads are more interesting. Observe what 
is being raised in the fields, the apparent size of the farms, 
prosperity as shown in buildings, the condition of the fences 
and stock. If any one will put down what he sees in a day's 
walk, he will find by evening that he has a pretty full record 
of the wild life of the locality. There will be the tracks of 
many animals in the dust or the mud of the road, there will 



146 Recreation for Teachers 

be animal burrows and trees evidently inhabited by squirrels 
or other animals. The automobile also, unfortunately, leaves 
a pretty full record of the fauna behind, for one may find in 
a day's travel along almost any road many creatures that 
have been run over. These will include snakes, frogs, turtles, 
and chickens, and sometimes rabbits, skunks, and squirrels. 

The road itself keeps account of nearly everything that is 
carried over it. Lumps of coal, kernels of wheat and corn 
and oats, wisps of straw or hay help to write the record of the 
thoroughfare. There will also be evidence of cattle, sheep, 
horses, dogs, cats, and other animals that have passed. 

In order to enjoy walking the person must be comfortably 
dressed. Shoes should have low, broad heels, and for moun- 
tain climbing hobnails are usually an advantage. Some 
recommend that shoes should always be made to order, and 
doubtless this is true for people with weak arches or tender 
feet. Clothing should be plain and strong, so that it will not 
show dust readily or be easily torn. Women should not wear 
skirts that are too light or too long, nor should they wear 
corsets. The underwear should be of the same color as the 
skirt. 

One difficulty with many walkers is that they undertake 
to carry too much baggage. There is no place where the 
Latin name of " impedimenta " is more appropriate than for 
any kind of baggage on a walking trip. Reduce the load 
to a sandwich and an orange, if possible. It is not pleasant 
to sleep in one's underwear in hot weather, but two thirds of 
the world undoubtedly does so, and if one will take a sponge 
bath before retiring it is no great hardship. Practically all 
lovers of walking are accustomed to carry a cane or alpenstock. 
They do this for the most part not for any assistance it ren- 



The Week-ends and Short Vacations 147 

ders in walking but for company. Women are apt to be timid 
about walking, but in general there is no sufficient reason for 
such timidity; they are usually safer walking in the coun- 
try than they are returning home evenings in the city. We 
shall hope that women will acquire greater self-reliance in 
these days of war. This is being demanded of them more and 
more, not merely on account of the war, but also because they 
are going into all sorts of occupations where they must meet 
men and compete with them under all conditions. There 
are perhaps places in the South where women cannot walk 
much by themselves, but there are not many other parts of 
the country where women are not reasonably safe. A small 
automatic revolver may add to the teacher's sense of security, 
especially at night, and when dogs appear along the way. 

A friend of mine, who was formerly a teacher of art in one 
of the Wisconsin normal schools, found herself later not very 
busy in Southern California and took up a desert claim in 
the section above San Bernardino. The nearest house was at 
first several miles distant. She employed from one to five 
men in improving her ranch and also in starting improvements 
for others who came in later to take up claims. Her cabin 
contained only two rooms, one of which had to serve as a 
bedroom for herself and the other for her help. She carried 
an automatic revolver but tells me she never had occasion 
to use it, nor was she ever afraid. 

A difficulty about a walk which lasts several days is the 
baggage, as the teacher may visit places at which she will not 
wish to appear in her walking clothes. This, however, is 
not a serious difficulty, as one can send on in advance six 
pounds anywhere within the first mail zone for ten cents, 
and a larger package at a proportionately lower price. It is 



148 Recreation for Teachers 

no real extravagance when underwear is ready to wash, to 
buy new garments, and send the soiled ones home by mail. 
The mistake oftenest made by beginners is attempting to 
walk too far. The trip should not be taken to see how far 
one can walk, but rather to see something. The distance 
covered should seldom exceed ten miles a day, which is the 
average daily walk of the Sierra Club. 

A PROGRAM OF WEEK-END WALKS 

There ought to be a program of walks around all of our 
larger cities covering the week-ends during the pleasanter 
parts of the year. The following outlines give a hint of possi- 
bilities. 

BY THE MAZAMA CLUB, PORTLAND, OREGON 

Sat.-Sun., Jan. 13-14. Larch Mountain. Leave Union Depot on 
O-W. R. & N. train Saturday at 11.20 p.m. Special car will be side- 
tracked at Bridal Veil. Walk over road to Palmer, then over trail to 
summit of Larch Mountain. The return will be made Sunday afternoon 
over the same route. Take train at Bridal Veil at 4.15 p.m., arriving in 
Portland at 5.30. 

The lights of Portland are visible from the trail ; the view from the 
summit, especially Mt. Hood at sunrise, is superb. The logging camp 
will be headquarters, where hot coffee and chocolate will be served. 

BY THE SIERRA CLUB, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 

May i2th-i3th — Schwartz Canyon (Knapsack Trip). Take 
Monticello S. S. Co. boat, north end of Ferry Building, May 12th, 9.45 
a.m., 12.30 or 3.20 p.m., for Vallejo and electric train for Calistoga. Meet 
at Ferry twenty minutes before boat sails, so that parties of 15 or over 
can obtain reduced rate. All sleeping bags, etc., must be sent by the 
9.45 boat or mailed to N. D. Richardson, Calistoga, in time to reach him 
on Friday, May nth. All bags will be transported to camping place 



The Week-ends and Short Vacations 149 

and returned by team. Walk out Cat Hill Road to Maple Spring and 
camp near summit. Sunday down Schwartz Canyon under direction 
of leaders. If arrangements can be made party will return via auto from 
/Etna Springs, otherwise return will be via Cat Hill Road. Make reser- 
vations not later than Thursday noon, May 10th. A further small 
charge will be made for baggage transport. Distance Saturday, 6 miles ; 
Sunday, 6 to 12 miles, according to route taken. Round trip to Calis- 
toga, #2.65. 

September 2Qth-3oth — Inverness and Drake's Bay. Take 2.45 
p.m. Sausalito boat and train, Saturday, for Point Reyes. Walk via 
road to Inverness, where hotel accommodations will be available. Sun- 
day cross bridge via Mt. Vision and walk cross country to Drake's Bay, 
the site of the first landing of Europeans on California soil. Return to 
Point Reyes via Inverness Park. (Make reservations for hotel accom- 
modations at Club room by depositing $1.50 not later than Wednesday 
noon, September 26th.) Distance, Saturday, 4 miles ; Sunday, 16 miles. 
Round trip to Point Reyes, $ 1.2 5. 

The Night's Lodging 

In connection with two-day trips the chief problem and 
expense is likely to be the lodging for the night, and in many 
cases it is the lack of any suitable place which prevents teach- 
ers and others from taking a two-day trip. 

This, however, is a difficulty which is usually greatly 
overestimated. The hunters and trappers and early pioneers 
who settled America often lived in the woods for weeks with- 
out camp or tent, protected only by trees and by the fire 
which they built at night, though prowling Indians sometimes 
made even this dangerous. 

We are becoming overcivilized and absolute slaves of our 
conventions. There is no hardship in sleeping out under 
the stars occasionally, and if there be a sheltering tree with 
leaves or moss beneath and we can have a camp fire to cheer 



150 Recreation for Teachers 

the solitude, it is a couch fit for a king. One who has never 
slept where he could look up at the stars and into the immen- 
sity of space has missed one of the most inspiring of experi- 
ences. 

It is probable that the first night one may not sleep eight 
hours. By three o'clock in the morning, or even earlier, the 
birds begin to sing, and never do birds' songs sound so clear 
or pleasant as in this hush of the early morning. 

" The nightingale, if she should sing by day, 
When every goose is cackling, would be thought 
No better a musician than the wren." 

A few years ago, when I was lecturing at the Harvard 
Summer School, I spent most of my week-ends in walking 
over the eastern part of Massachusetts. As soon as my 
work was over on Friday I usually set out and returned to 
Cambridge some time late Sunday afternoon. I often varied 
the walks with trolley trips and got my meals and spent the 
nights at the hotels along the way. 

I always find a great sense of relief as soon as I have cut 
loose from all my bearings and set forth on an uncharted sea 
to go wherever I choose, with no particular idea of where I am 
going or where I am to spend the night. I feel something 
as a bird does, I suppose, that is released from a cage. Two 
days spent in walking in this way are always very pleasant 
and usually very instructive to me. 

President Wm. P. Hardesty of the Mazama Club of Port- 
land, Oregon, makes the following recommendation in re- 
gard to sleeping equipment : 

"The lightest and most convenient sleeping bag, where 
one has to carry the bedding himself, is made of balloon 



The Week-ends and Short Vacations 151 

silk or tanalite. This is really waterproofed silkoline, and it 
is extremely light and also waterproof and fairly durable. A 
number of Mazamas have sleeping bags made of this material. 
The cost is about $7.00 or $8.00. 

"Of course, if the bedding is transported in wagons, there is 
no objection whatever to having a good stout waterproofed 
canvas cloth for the sleeping bag, such as would weigh eight 
or ten pounds. The sleeping bags of balloon silk and tanalite 
are supplied by Abercrombie & Fitch of New York. This 
firm carries camping specialties of all kinds adapted to use 
on outings where the parties have to pack everything on their 
own backs." 

THE CAMP FIRE 

The camp fire has an appeal which is hard for any one to 
understand who is not a genetic psychologist. There are few 
other things that have the same power to arouse the imagi- 
nation and awaken the deeper feelings. With a good fire at 
night almost any company feels at home even in the wilder- 
ness. Merely to return to a spot where one has sat around 
the fire at some previous time seems like going back to an old 
residence. To camp out without a good fire is to miss half 
the pleasure of the outing. 

In getting a camp supper the novice often makes the mis- 
take of building too large a fire. A large fire is too hot, and 
it takes too long to burn down. The best fire is a small one 
which soon burns to coals. It is possible to toast bread or 
bacon or marshmallows on a stick or corn in the husk on such 
a fire without being uncomfortable, and by the time the com- 
pany is ready to depart the fire will be beyond the danger 
point. 



152 Recreation for Teachers 

A party on an outing nearly always wants some kind of hot 
drink, and coffee is highly appreciated. It can be kept hot 
in a thermos bottle, or warmed up in a metal container or a 
strong bottle, or it can be made in a pail. 

There are sections of the country where a fire is always 
a possible source of great danger. Fires should not be lighted 
where they can spread, and they should not be left until 
they have gone out or been extinguished. 

The Week-end Visit 

Undoubtedly we are not as hospitable or as given to family 
visiting as we were a few years ago. For country teachers 
especially, the week-end visit, with the excursions and trips 
and social occasions which are likely to grow out of it, is excel- 
lent. Rural teachers do not have sufficient social life. There 
ought to be some plan whereby they might frequently visit 
each other for week-ends. This should be officially encour- 
aged by the county superintendent, and possibly arrange- 
ments might be made at the institutes. 

The Week-end Camp 

There is no more delightful way to spend the week-end 
than to camp out. It is easy for fifteen or twenty teachers 
to hire a motor truck or a sight-seeing automobile and go off 
fifteen or twenty-five miles on Friday evening to camp out 
until Monday morning. If they carry a man or two to help 
put up the tents, the camping and cooking from Friday night 
to Monday morning should be delightful. It should not be 
much more expensive than staying at home. The novelty 
of it is pretty sure to throw off the strain and to bring the 



The Week-ends and Short Vacations 153 

teacher back Sunday evening fresh for her work. There is 
no other place that cements friendship as does the camp fire, 
and the singing and social life make a pleasant variation in 
the routine of the week. 

If the camp be placed in some mountain canyon, by some lake 
or river, or in some fine wood, it should offer ample facilities 
for making collections of flowers and leaves and perhaps also 
of geological specimens. In almost any location it will give 
an opportunity for the study of birds and other wild creatures 
of the woods. On Sunday morning some one might well 
read a passage of the Bible, and the group might sing a few 
familiar hymns. But I have never felt that it was irreligious 
to spend a Sunday in the quiet of the woods or on the shore 
of some pleasant lake. 

The Municipal Camp and Farm 

The ultimate solution of this question might well be a 
camp or a farm school maintained by the city. The munici- 
pal camp of Los Angeles, though seventy-five miles from the 
city, is often used by teachers for week-ends, and one located 
only twenty or twenty-five miles away might be more popu- 
lar. Let the city secure a good-sized farm with some water 
and hills and forest and a truck garden, if possible, in the 
immediate environs of the city. The older school children 
might be sent out for the summer to live in the country and 
learn farming. Here there might be a teachers' clubhouse 
and perhaps a home for superannuated city employees. 
Fresh vegetables and milk could be furnished at low cost to 
these people. 

There are some sixty cities that now maintain municipal 



154 Recreation for Teachers 

camps during the summer. This number is constantly in- 
creasing, and the time seems to be coming when nearly every 
city of fifteen or twenty thousand inhabitants will have some 
form of municipal camp. At present most of these camps are 
merely leased by the city or by the playground department ; 
but a number of cities are purchasing sites, and the time of 
municipal ownership is at hand. 

Most of the larger cities of Europe have municipal forests. 
A law was recently passed in Massachusetts allowing cities 
to acquire forests of a similar type. The municipal forest 
should offer adequate facilities for camping. If there is no 
forest near by, the city or the school board should acquire 
a tract for outings and camping, though these are now per- 
mitted in many of the larger city parks. 

As yet, so far as I know, no school board has acquired a 
piece of land for these purposes, but it is in line with present 
tendencies in education. Such a site should be used by the 
school board as a place where the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts, 
the Camp Fire Girls, the social center, and the teachers' 
clubs might go for summer vacations and for week-ends. 
It might also be a place where convalescent teachers or others 
recovering from non-contagious diseases might go to recuper- 
ate. If it were of modest proportions and near by, some 
married teacher might have charge during the week and come 
in to his school by automobile or trolley. 

Los Angeles has shown how easy this project is. Its camp 
in the mountains above San Bernardino is used by parties 
of girls, parties of boys, and families, for two-week periods 
during the summer. It charges #7.50, of which the trans- 
portation costs #3.00, and the board and room #4.50. On 
this it makes a profit of one dollar a person, if the salaries of 



The Week-ends and Short Vacations 155 

the play directors and interest on the investment are not in- 
cluded in the charge. It is probable that a camp might be 
opened to teachers for week-ends at an entire charge of not 
more than a dollar a day, and still be self-supporting. 



The Teachers' Clubhouse 

Before many years the teachers in many of the larger 
cities will probably have some sort of club building outside 
the city. Such a building might be merely rented by 
the teachers, or it might appropriately be provided by the 
school board as a country club. It should be by the water- 
side or in the mountains if possible, and have grounds of 
considerable size with facilities for tennis, croquet, volley 
ball, swimming, and pleasant walks. If the desire for such a 
building were really brought to the consciousness of the citi- 
zens, such buildings would often be given to the teachers. 

If the clubhouse belonged to a small city where there were 
only a few teachers, it would not necessarily require a house- 
keeper, but the teachers might use it as a camp and go out 
with provisions to last them over the week-end. In the case 
of a larger city, a building with an ample garden might be 
secured and a man and his wife kept all the time to prepare 
the meals and assist in entertaining the teachers and their 
company. 

The University of Colorado maintains a week-end camp, 
twenty-five miles away in the mountains, for the students of 
its summer school. Teachers can better afford to go to such a 
camp during the year than when they are on their vacations. 
Within less than twenty-five miles of most of our cities 
a beautiful camp ground could be secured. 



156 Recreation for Teachers 

But some superintendents may say, "The object of the 
schools is to educate children, not to entertain their teachers." 
But teaching is a difficult and wearing profession which is 
very meagerly paid. The tendency is for the more capable 
members to leave it early for marriage or for other work. 
Anything that will make the teacher's life more attractive 
will draw superior people to it, and will keep them in the pro- 
fession for a longer time. The cities of California have se- 
cured many of the best teachers of America because of their 
attractiveness as places of residence and because of the high 
salaries they pay. If one city will furnish such facilities, 
others will be likely to do the same. 

The Week-end Resort 

It is not necessary, of course, that teachers should camp 
out for their week-ends in order to get away from routine 
conditions. In the environs of most cities of any considerable 
size, generally on the banks of some river or lake, will be found 
a summer resort of some kind. These resorts do not usually 
open for summer visitors until about the time the schools 
close. But there is usually some one in residence, and ar- 
rangements might be made to open the buildings for week- 
ends if a group of teachers should so desire, at a very reason- 
able rate. This would often allow them to have a thoroughly 
good time in a very delightful place without the usual crowd- 
ing and confusion of a resort. 

So, also, around most cities there are a good many farm 
women or others who are accustomed to give board during 
the summer, and many of these might be induced to take in 
week-end parties of teachers. A great many teachers do not 



The Week-ends and Short Vacations 157 

know country life or products as they should. A few week- 
ends spent in this way might be as instructive to many as a 
course in college and would be almost sure to be restful. 



Christmas and Easter Vacations 

In the eastern part of the country and especially in the New 
England section, the Pennsylvania and the New York, New 
Haven, and Hartford railroads for a number of years have 
organized Christmas and Easter trips for teachers. These 
trips have usually been either to Old Point Comfort or to 
Washington. They are personally conducted and are offered 
at a very reasonable rate, usually including hotel as well as 
other charges. Thousands of teachers enjoy them every 
year. Similar excursions would doubtless be popular in 
other parts of the country, if the railroads were equally 
enterprising in planning them and seeking to reach the 
teachers. 

In most of the country below the Ohio River the first week 
or two in April are likely to be about the most delightful of 
the year. The leaves are in their freshest green, the birds 
are building their nests, and all nature is feeling the push of 
spring. Where a group of 1ivq or seven teachers have the use 
of an automobile, it would scarcely be possible to plan a more 
delightful trip than to follow one of the new highways that 
are running into the South, to New Orleans or Jacksonville 
or any of the other great cities. It should be possible to make 
a hundred miles a day and still take plenty of time to see the 
points of interest along the way. Such a trip might be made 
to include a number of the battle fields of the Civil War and 
many other places of great national and scenic interest. 



158 Recreation for Teachers 

The mere change in fauna and flora would alone make it 
worth while. 

With careful driving the entire cost of an automobile trip 
for five people should not exceed five cents a mile. In other 
words, to each one of the five the mileage cost should not 
exceed one cent; which would mean that the automobile 
expense of a thousand-mile trip would be ten dollars for each 
individual, or fifty, dollars for a group of five. This is sup- 
posing, of course, that one of the teachers drives the car. 
The only other necessary expenses are the hotel bills, which 
may be as high or as low as the party choose. It should be 
possible to make a thousand-mile trip in ten days in this way 
at an expense of from twenty to thirty dollars per person and 
be very comfortable. 

Nearly every kind of travel which is feasible for Saturdays 
or the summer is feasible also for week-ends and other short 
vacations, so the possibilities include walking, bicycling, 
motor-cycling, automobiling, driving, horseback riding, canoe- 
ing, rowing, motor-boating, and the like, as well as all sports, 
games, visiting. These are described in other chapters, 
where they may be found by means of the index. 



CHAPTER X 
THE TEACHERS' INSTITUTE 

The teachers' institute is an anomalous institution at 
present. Twenty-five or thirty years ago a great many 
counties started short summer schools for the training of their 
teachers. The sessions were usually from three to seven 
weeks in length, and were called summer normals. They were 
largely given up to drills in the elementary subjects and were 
intended to prepare teachers to pass the county examinations 
and to teach the three R's. This work has been taken over 
by the state normal schools for the most part, and the sum- 
mer normals have shrunk to institutes usually one week in 
length, though in some states they last only two days. 

Thus far there has been no well-considered attempt to 
adapt the institute to changed conditions or to standardize 
it by determining what is expected from so short a period 
of training. Perhaps there is no educational institution that 
might yield a larger return to intelligent study. 

The teachers' institute is a brief normal school. The stu- 
dents are usually the teachers who are teaching in the coun- 
try and small villages of the county. It is the most difficult 
of all schools to organize and requires the most expert ability 
to make it a success, since its session is very brief, and the 
material must be presented in a concentrated form and so 
forcibly as to make sure that it will be retained. County 
superintendents as a rule have had no experience in selecting 

159 



160 Recreation for Teachers 

faculties for normal schools, nor sufficient professional train- 
ing to frame the curricula for such schools. The result is 
that there often is no main purpose underlying the institute. 
It is merely a congeries of lectures on various topics which 
lead nowhere and produce very meager results in the practice 
of the schools, ff teachers' institutes were organized in the 
office of the state superintendent, and held serially, they 
might engage, in most states, the continuous service of two 
institute faculties. Instruction given in this way should 
become expert and produce definite results in the introduction 
of agriculture, gardening, manual training, organized play, 
or any other subject which it might be considered desirable 
to put into the curriculum. As the time of the staff would 
thus be used continuously, the institute would not be so ex- 
pensive as it is where the lecturers are called out for a week 
or a day at a time, and must often travel repeatedly from state 
to state. It would thus be possible to secure an engagement 
with certain specialists and theatrical troupes also. 

It probably would not be wise that the entire program of 
the institute should be furnished by a permanent staff of 
lecturers. Perhaps the best arrangement would be to leave 
one or two vacancies on the program each day to be rilled in 
by the county superintendent with some one who might 
bring something which the county peculiarly needed, or by 
some man of the hour whom it was possible to secure. 

The institute logically should be organized either as an 
extension department of the state normal schools or the state 
university, or else directly by the state department of educa- 
tion. If it were controlled by the normal school or university, 
it would correspond in general to the farmers' institutes 
which are organized by the agricultural colleges of the state. 



The Teachers' Institute 161 

Perhaps the employment of the institute staff by a commit- 
tee of the county superintendents might be advisable. 

Not only are many institutes without any plan, but the 
time devoted to the daily program is too long. Most of us 
cannot listen to six or seven hours of lectures a day and retain 
much of what we hear. As I look back upon the institutes 
that I have attended during the last ten years, I find there 
were few addresses which have left any impress upon my mind. 
The things I do remember are the people I have met and my 
discussions with them, and the points of interest visited. In 
other words, it has been the noon hours and the time of rec- 
reation after the program of the institute was over that left 
the strong impression. Is not this likely to be true, also, 
in the case of the teachers ? The suggestion seems to be that 
there should be more sight-seeing and more social life. Per- 
haps an institute of a type somewhat different might be more 
effective. 

An Institute for the Study of the Locality 

Probably this suggestion will seem impractical to most 
people. It certainly would be so in many localities. Prob- 
ably no such institute has ever been held. But Jahn, who 
may properly be regarded as the father of physical training, 
used to take his classes off on walking trips which sometimes 
lasted four or five weeks. They climbed the Alps and visited 
many places of historic and scenic interest. 

Teachers ought to know a great deal more than they do 
about the county and township in which they live. They 
ought to know more of the common flowers and birds and the 
geology of the district, its waterways, roads, industries, and 
sources of wealth. 

M 



1 62 Recreation for Teachers 

To the teacher living within twenty or even forty miles, 
the institute offers an admirable opportunity for a week-end 
walk. By starting Saturday morning it ought to be possible 
for any able-bodied teacher to arrive by Sunday evening. If 
her route takes her along any well- traveled road, and the 
distance is not more than forty miles, she will probably reach 
her destination the first day, unless she positively refuses to 
ride when invited to do so. Where the institute is near some 
stream, the teachers might come by canoe or rowboat. 

However, the method which will be most attractive is to 
go in groups of five or seven by automobile. In most schools 
there is at least one teacher who is accustomed to driving, 
and in some counties nearly all the teachers might attend in 
this way. It is often an advantage to have an auto at com- 
mand while attending the institute. 

About once in five years the superintendent might well 
hold an institute devoted mostly to a study of the locality. 
Such an institute might be conducted by setting up three or 
four camps. Tents could be carried on motor trucks and set 
up by men for the purpose. The cooking arrangements 
might be under the supervision or actual charge of the teachers 
of domestic economy. But in most cases this would not be 
necessary, as it would be feasible to select villages as the 
places of meeting. On the first day the teachers would go on 
trips, preferably taking their lunches, to points of interest 
around the first village. One group might study birds, 
another make collections of flowers, another study the farms 
and crops of the neighborhood, another might go to any mine 
or quarry or water power development, and so on. An in- 
structor should be in charge of each group. At night all 
should return for a general institute lecture or two. Or, 



The Teachers' institute 163 

instead of returning to the town from which they set out, their 
studies might take them all in a certain direction, so that in 
the evening they would arrive at a second town not more than 
ten miles distant and have their general meeting there. 

If they returned to the first town for the night, they might 
take a trolley early in the morning to the next town. In case 
the teachers walk on to the next town, their baggage should 
follow in motor trucks or wagons. 

If the superintendent wishes to be more moderate in his 
innovation, but is still interested in getting the excursion 
organized into the schools, he may plan for a single afternoon 
devoted to an institute excursion. 



The Chautauqua Institute 

Where the institute is held during the school year and the 
schools are closed, it is natural that it should be short and 
concentrated ; but if it is held during the summer, and the 
teachers are expected to attend without pay, it should at 
least give them something which they will care for. 

Our rural teachers are nearly all young, not much over 
twenty- two or twenty-three on the average. The majority 
are living on farms or in small villages. The school year is 
short. Their salaries are usually too small for them to stay 
at summer resorts or to travel. Their vacation consists 
largely in the substitution of housework for school work. 
They need a vacation as well as training. 

It is possible in some sections to hold an institute which 
is both a summer school and a vacation. Instead of having 
an ordinary one-week institute, the session should last two 
weeks. The morning should be devoted to an institute 



164 Recreation for Teachers 

program and the afternoon to having a good time, playing 
games, rowing, swimming, or having picnics and social occa- 
sions of various sorts. 

Especially in places where several counties combine for a 
joint institute, it ought to be possible to select a site with 
considerable general recreational interest. In Colorado, Dis- 
trict No. 2 announced that its institute for 191 7 would be 
held in Estes Park from June 4th to 17th, and District No. 6 
would meet for two weeks at Cheyenne Wells. The Tri-County 
Institute of Maryland holds its institute for two weeks at 
Ocean City, and states in its announcement that the morn- 
ing will be devoted to institute work and the afternoon and 
evening to recreation. 

The teachers should have a better time at such an institute 
than if they had gone to a summer resort, because they have 
their friends with them. In some cases the time at which 
the institute is held will be decisive in this regard. At the 
beginning or the end of the season it may be possible to get 
possession of a Chautauqua or summer resort ground for two 
weeks at a very reasonable rate. If this were not feasible, 
it often would be possible to secure tents from the National 
Guard and camp out. An institute of this kind should not cost 
the teachers much more than the ordinary one-week institute. 
The talent for the program should not cost more. 

The Institute Program 

The main consideration here is the quality of talent secured. 
It is possible for the institute to be a real inspiration. This 
is not a plea for a program of froth and funny stories ; but 
good material well presented should not be tedious. 



The Teachers' Institute 165 

Many counties are unwisely parsimonious in this matter. 
In the case of an institute of four hundred teachers which is 
held during school time, it is probable that the school authori- 
ties are paying the teachers on an average about $15.00 a 
week, which would mean $6000. If the teachers are also 
spending $4000 for board and room and traveling expenses, 
the institute is costing the school boards and the teachers 
about $10,000. There are cases in which this money is prac- 
tically wasted, because the staff does not have any vital 
message to give. 

All lecturers should be expected to submit an outline or 
abstract of their lectures, which should be printed and given 
out to the teachers at the institute. This would be a very 
simple and inexpensive proposition if there were a permanent 
institute faculty and the printing were done on a large scale. 
It would be more difficult and costly under present conditions, 
but it would still be worth while. Comparatively few teach- 
ers take notes. Many probably would not refer to an ab- 
stract if it were given them, but the majority would look over 
the lectures they were interested in and would thus retain 
probably twice as much as they now do. The value of the 
institute might thus be nearly doubled at an increased cost 
of not more than four or five per cent. 

If the institute is held in a school which is provided with 
a moving picture machine, there should be both forenoon and 
afternoon a brief program of moving pictures of literary, 
historic, or geographic interest. This feature might come 
either at the beginning of the session to encourage prompt- 
ness, or as a recess. It is sure to be appreciated, and, as many 
of the reels can be obtained gratis from the Bureau of Edu- 
cation at Washington, the cost would be slight. In most 



1 66 Recreation for Teachers 

of the institutes of Pennsylvania there are splendid directors 
of music. The singing is good training for school work and 
a relief from listening. Where it is not possible to furnish 
music in any other form, the institute should make use of the 
victrola. The phonograph companies, as well as the moving 
picture companies, will often give exhibitions free to teachers. 

Exhibitions 

Things seen are better remembered than things heard, and 
more of the institute time might well be devoted to exhibi- 
tions. These may include almost any and every phase of 
school work. A class in beginning reading may be taught 
in the primary section, or there may be an exhibition of work 
in arithmetic or history or geography, or a demonstration of 
games. 

After the Sessions 

shopping 

From the reports from Kansas City and Johnstown, it 
would appear that shopping is the most popular form of 
recreation for teachers on Saturday afternoons. Nearly 
every one with money to spend enjoys spending it. It is 
certain that many rural teachers look forward to this oppor- 
tunity in connection with the institute. In making out the 
program, one afternoon should, in most cases, be set aside for 
shopping. On Friday afternoon most of the teachers will go 
home. This will leave three afternoons of a week's institute 
to be planned for. 

A PLAY PERIOD 

Where there is no other break in the program, and space 
permits, it is often desirable to have a play period of about 



The Teachers' Institute 167 

half an hour during the forenoon. But the best time for a 
play period is usually after four in the afternoon. The teach- 
ers should not be required to attend these play periods, but 
from twenty to seventy-five per cent of them will usually do 
so. By this means better games have been introduced into 
many counties, and the teachers have been led to take a 
larger part in the play life of their children. This is also one 
of the best ways to organize the county play picnic. 

EXCURSIONS 

We are coming to ask that education shall begin with con- 
crete things, and that it shall start in the neighborhood of 
the school. President Wilson has asked for a new training 
in community life. In view of these facts, there should be 
a list of interesting places to visit announced on the institute 
program, and leaders should be provided to take charge of 
parties. These excursions might well include places of his- 
torical or literary or scenic interest, factories, lumber yards, 
brick kilns, and the like. Many of our cities are making a 
beginning in these trips for the study of the neighborhood, 
and the institute might serve to show teachers how to or- 
ganize this work. 

A short time ago the writer attended an institute in western 
Pennsylvania. It was in a town on the Ohio River, where 
there was one of the new sectional dams which are being 
constructed for improving navigation. The locks and gates, 
operated by compressed air, were very interesting. In this 
city and its suburbs were five large glass factories, one of 
which, devoted to making cut glass, is said to be the largest 
in the world. Here, also, the old canal along which the 



1 68 Recreation for Teachers 

youthful Garfield drove a mule, enters the river. Yet 
there was no reference to any of these things on the pro- 
gram of the institute, nor did a single teacher visit any 
of them, so far as I know. Still these are matters of very 
great local and national importance, in which all teachers 
should be interested. 

THE HOSPITALITY OF THE TOWN 

During the present war the cities near the army canton- 
ments are setting an example of hospitality such as we have 
never seen before. Such hospitality is due to the teachers 
no less than to the soldiers. Teachers are public servants 
on meager salaries, who are working very unselfishly for the 
most part for the welfare of the children of the community. 
The city owes them a debt of gratitude which has seldom been 
adequately acknowledged and has never been adequately 
rewarded. 

Hundreds of soldiers and sailors are being invited out for 
Saturday and Sunday dinners in private homes. Why is not 
such hospitality offered more often to teachers? Teachers 
know how to behave; they would not be embarrassed by 
a dinner in a cultured home, and they would appreciate the 
spirit prompting such hospitality. 

In the cities near which army camps are located, the Ma- 
sonic Temple, the Odd Fellows' Hall, the Elks' Hall, and the 
Y. M. and Y. W. C. A.'s are thrown open to the soldiers. 
Why should not the various social clubs of the city, includ- 
ing the Y. M. and Y. W. C. A.'s and some of the churches, 
offer a similar hospitality to the teachers from out of town ? 

An institute is a source of considerable profit to the town 
in which it is held. It is not unknown for chambers of com- 



The Teachers' Institute 169 

merce to raise thousands of dollars, and cities to build great 
convention halls, in order to get conventions to come to 
them. A teachers' institute is really a small convention. It is 
estimated that teachers spend ten dollars each in the city in 
which the institute is held, but they often spend thirty to 
forty dollars; the average may be as high as twenty, for 
the rural teachers often do most of their shopping at this 
time, laying in a supply of clothing for the year. In view 
of this fact, it is only fitting that the chamber of commerce, 
or business men's club, or whatever organization there is in 
the town, should show some appreciation of the teachers' 
presence, from a commercial point of view as well as because 
the teachers are public servants in whose welfare all are 
interested. At many institutes the business men are now 
arranging to give a reception or an auto ride or a supper or 
something of the kind. The receptions are usually pretty 
stupid affairs, but some of the auto rides, which take the 
teachers over the city and show them public buildings, parks, 
boulevards, and the like, and points of interest in the environ- 
ment, are well worth while both to the teachers and the city. 
Indeed, they are so well worth while that they might properly 
be paid out of public funds, as they are the best advertise- 
ment the city can have. Moreover the home teachers and 
children are likely thereby to gain a new interest in their 
city, and a new loyalty. Such rides are also quite as valuable 
a part of the teachers' education as anything that they are 
likely to get out of the institute proper. 

SOCIAL OPPORTUNITIES 

Most of us who go to conventions get quite as much out 
of the opportunities of personal talks with people and informal 



170 Recreation for Teachers 

discussions of our problems as we do out of the program. This 
is true even at the N. E. A. There ought to be an effort to 
stimulate the social life and increase the social opportunities 
at the institute. 

In order to do this, the superintendent should endeavor to 
make every one acquainted with the others at the beginning, 
so far as possible, and there should be times when the teachers 
can get together to talk over things among themselves. For 
this reason it is wise to hold a reception or a picnic very early 
in the program, though group games are often better than 
receptions for making teachers acquainted. 

One weakness in the situation is the lack of a suitable place 
where the teachers can meet in a social way. Men at conven- 
tions usually congregate in hotel lobbies for their discussions, 
but teachers are apt to be quartered in private residences 
where they have few opportunities of meeting one another. 
There should be some central place where the teachers can 
get together. The church luncheon and suppers often help, 
though the time is usually too short for much conversation. 



THE TEACHERS' PICNIC 

A picnic should be a feature of most institutes held in the 
warmer part of the year. It is often best to have these pic- 
nics two or three miles from town, so that a considerable 
walk is involved. Such a picnic develops intimacy among 
the teachers and gives them something to talk about. It 
often results in their holding similar picnics and walking trips 
with their children on Saturday afternoons. 

There should be a committee on arrangements appointed 
by the superintendent. This committee should see that a 



The Teachers 1 Institute 171 

proper site is selected and that everything is in readiness. 
If the event decided upon is a corn roast, this will include 
the providing of corn, butter, butter spreaders, 1 coffee, sugar, 
cream, sandwiches, pickles, and perhaps marshmallows. 
A picnic of this kind will cost about twenty cents per capita. 
Such picnics should be held where wood is available for roast- 
ing corn 2 and for a bonfire. 

A SWIM 

Where a good swimming pool is available, it might be 
well for the superintendent to suggest, in sending out his 
announcements, that the teachers bring their bathing suits, 
and for him to secure the exclusive use of the pool for one 
afternoon or evening. " Blood is thicker than water," and 
water is thicker than air, and seems to serve as a medium 
connecting those who are in it. At all events, more social 
feeling and good fellowship result from swimming together 
than from sitting together in the same room. 

THE TEACHERS' CLUB 

It is best, in most places, that the teachers should belong to 
some kind of outdoor club. It is often possible at the insti- 
tute to organize such a club for Saturday afternoon picnics 
and nature and bird-study excursions, during the fall and 
spring, or for volley ball or basket ball or swimming during 

1 These may be made by splitting up wooden plates or by whittling out 
small pieces from thin strips of pine. 

2 In roasting the corn a good-sized fire should be allowed to burn down 
almost to coals, when the corn in the husk should be thrown upon it. It 
should be allowed to cook until the husk is dark brown. It will be found that 
corn cooked in this way has a delicious flavor. If the husk is thin it will be 
roasted, otherwise it will be steamed. 



172 Recreation for Teachers 

the winter. Such organizations sometimes persist from year 
to year and are of great social and physical value to the 
teachers. 

Evening Recreation 

In planning the institute the superintendent will do well 
to make a program for every evening except Friday, — not 
that regular sessions of the institute should be held during 
these evenings, but that the superintendent should seek to 
have something going on which will be of value to the teachers. 
A reception, special moving pictures, and plays which it would 
be desirable for the teachers to see might well be included. 

At a large proportion of the institutes there is an evening 
reception with light refreshments and the playing of games 
or dancing. This serves to make the teachers acquainted. 
It is not so much enjoyed or valuable as a picnic, as a rule, 
but if there is no other social provision, it is worth while. 

moving pictures and theater 

Many who are teaching in the country or small villages 
look forward to the opportunity afforded to attend moving- 
picture shows or the theater. Arrangements may be made 
to have the standard theaters and moving-picture places 
put on a special program during institute week, to be an- 
nounced on the institute program ; or the institute itself 
may conduct these features in the auditorium of the high 
school or elsewhere. 

Nothing could be furnished that would be of more interest 
than such a film as " Caberia" or " The Birth of a Nation," or 
a number of others that might be mentioned. If these were 
shown in the high school auditorium, they might be offered 



The Teachers' Institute 173 

free, or at any rate the admission need not be more than ten 
or fifteen cents. Thomas Edison says that most of the in- 
struction of the future is to be given through moving pictures. 
Moving-picture machines are now being placed in most of 
our new high schools and many of our elementary schools, 
and there can be little doubt but they are to play a larger 
and larger part in the education of the future. The institute 
is the best place to demonstrate to the teachers the value of 
this work. Moreover, these films also may give welcome 
relief to the monotony of the institute program. 

It should be possible, also, to arrange for a performance 
in the high school auditorium, by some good company, of 
Shakespeare, or such a play as "The Servant in the House" or 
" The Passing of the Third Floor Back." If an auditorium 
could be furnished to the company without charge, and an 
audience absolutely assured, it should be possible to get a 
really good performance at a reasonable cost, if the routing 
could be arranged. 

The simplest arrangement, however, would be for the super- 
intendent to see the managers of the principal theaters of 
the town and arrange with them to put on plays during insti- 
tute week which it would be worth while for the teachers to 
attend. These plays, with prices, should then be announced 
upon the program of the institute. Probably the theaters 
under these conditions would be willing to offer special prices 
to the teachers. 

A MUSICAL PROGRAM 

Very often in the Pennsylvania institutes there is provision 
for an evening program of music, and an excellent quartette 
is brought in from the outside, or perhaps some really great 



174 Recreation for Teachers 

musical performance is given. The funds of the institute 
are usually sufficient to permit the offering of this program 
to the teachers without charge. In a good many of the west- 
ern and middle western institutes a program of music by local 
talent is offered, which often winds up with a dance in the 
gymnasium. 

In some institutes they are making much of community 
singing, devoting one or two evenings to it. This is desirable 
from two points of view. It creates esprit de corps as almost 
nothing else can, and it gives the teachers a needed training 
in singing. 

The Calendar of the Institute 

If the suggestions which have been made are to be carried 
out, the institute calendar will be a much more elaborate 
affair than it has been thus far, for it will contain not only 
a list of speakers with their topics, but also a list of places 
to be visited, of plays to be seen at the theaters and moving- 
picture houses, of clubs that are offering open house and of 
excursions that are planned. If such a program is sent out 
a few days before the institute convenes, the teacher should 
be able to plan pretty definitely what she will do and what 
she can get out of the institute. The N. E. A. always an- 
nounces interesting side trips on its program. 

Most teachers would enjoy such an institute and look for- 
ward to it. While the program of lectures would be shorter, 
the actual time planned for them would be doubled or trebled. 
Its value should be much more than that of an institute 
of the older type. It would form and strengthen friendships, 
increase the teachers' pleasure and pride in their profession, 
and become a memory which would linger. 



The Teachers 1 Institute 175 

A Continuation School for City Teachers 

In general, city teachers do not attend institutes, but often 
have a lecture course and periodical meetings with discussions 
of pedagogical questions, which serve nearly the same purpose 
and form a sort of continuation school. 

There is no class of people for whom a continuation school 
is more appropriate or effective than teachers. Indeed, 
something of this kind is absolutely necessary if the teacher 
is to keep growing and maintain her interest in her work. It 
would be a logical development of the work now being done 
by the various normal schools and departments of education 
if they should organize an extension force which would devote 
its time to presenting to teachers throughout the year the 
more recent and important educational movements. In- 
struction given in this way would be more likely to be remem- 
bered and used than when it is given in a solid program of a 
week. This extension work might be so organized, with 
outside reading, as to lead to an A.B. or an A.M. degree 
within eight or ten years. In that case, some state or na- 
tional department or university might hold the examinations 
at stated times and grant degrees to those who had accom- 
plished the requisite work. 

A number of our larger normal schools are now opening 
extension centers, where they give regular courses on Satur- 
day mornings. There is an arrangement in Pennsylvania 
whereby any of the larger cities may hold institutes sepa- 
rate from the county. The teachers pay an institute fee of 
from three to five dollars and during the year hold five ses- 
sions, each of which usually occupies Friday afternoon and 
Saturday morning. In this way they save traveling expenses, 



176 Recreation for Teachers 

and charges for board and room ; they do not miss any of 
their school work, and they receive #15.00 extra for attend- 
ing these institutes. This is a good suggestion for a sort of 
continuation school for teachers everywhere, only it would 
be desirable to have fifteen or twenty sessions each year 
instead of five. 

In Kansas city, Missouri, one Saturday morning each 
month during the school year is devoted to a teachers' insti- 
tute, one or more speakers being brought in from the outside. 
These meetings really constitute an extension school. But 
besides this, the great majority of the teachers take regular 
class work along educational lines, often spending a good many 
of their evenings in preparation for these lessons. This work 
is made a condition of receiving increased pay. 

When the city superintendent becomes the principal of a 
continuation school of this sort, he will become interested in 
the welfare of his teachers in the same way that the presi- 
dent of a normal school is, and realize that he should pro- 
vide medical inspection, hospital service, and social and 
recreational opportunities just as normal schools do. 

If the teachers are organized for continuation study in 
the way that has been suggested, the distinction between 
teacher and pupil will largely disappear. The teachers 
become the upper class in the school system or city college 
or municipal university, as you will. They are students, 
and as such are entitled to at least as many facilities for 
recreation and physical welfare as are other students. 

It seems likely that the best results will not be secured 
in such a continuation school unless there is some centrally 
located building which is devoted to this work. Undoubt- 
edly there should be a principal of this teacher training school 



The Teachers' Institute 177 

and also a faculty, on which there should be at least a medical 
inspector, a director of recreation, a city psychologist, a 
director of research, and a director of experimental schools, 
and possibly certain of the specialists from the high schools. 
Whenever teachers get together at stated intervals, it is 
possible for them to plan for various forms of recreation which 
they may have together. If the reader will consult the 
chapter on Summer Schools, she will find many forms of recrea- 
tion outlined which will be quite as suitable for the regular 
teaching force of almost any city. 



N 



CHAPTER XI 
THE SUMMER AT HOME 

The summer vacation is the great opportunity of the teacher 
to recover from any bad effects which her teaching may have 
produced in her, and to keep herself alive and growing. On 
the use which she makes of this time will largely depend her 
usefulness as an individual and her future status in the 
profession. 

A large proportion of teachers are not getting out of their 
summers what they should, because they make no plans for 
them. When their work is over they merely slump back into 
their boarding house or home, do their routine tasks, read a 
few unimportant magazines and stories, and visit with such 
people as come their way. There may be teachers who are 
overwrought and on the ragged edge of a nervous breakdown, 
to whom such a vacation may be justifiable, but to most it 
means a wasted summer. 

The following replies from the teachers of Council Bluffs, 
Iowa, were made in response to the simple question, "How 
did you spend your summer vacation last year?" No 
names were signed. 



178 



The Summer at Home 179 

Activities of 85 Teachers of Council Bluffs, Iowa, during the 

Summer 

work 

At home 15 

Housework 22 

Taught 3 

Tutored 2 

Clerical work 2 

In grocery 1 

In library 1 

Gardening 1 

47 

STUDY 

Study 2 

Summer school 23 

25 

RECREATION 

Visiting 11 

Summer resort 7 

Travel 17 

Resting 3 

In mountains 2 

On farm _2 

42 

Of these teachers, fifteen state they spent their summer 
at home, while twenty- two say they spent it in housework. 
Undoubtedly all the teachers, or nearly all, who did house- 
work did it at home ; so it may be assumed that all together 
thirty-seven teachers of the eighty-five spent their summers 
almost altogether at home. But nearly all teachers who have 
a home undoubtedly spend a considerable part of their 
summer there, and this is true even when they attend a 
summer school or travel for a part of the summer. 



180 Recreation for Teachers 

Of the teachers spending their summers at home, there are 
two separate classes : those who go home to take charge of 
the house, and those who simply go home for a visit. If the 
teacher whose home is on a farm takes full charge of the house- 
work, it is probable that she will have a ten or fifteen hour 
day with very little opportunity for recreation or study ; 
while the city teacher who goes back from her school to spend 
rive or six weeks with her family and among her old friends 
may find it one of the most delightful forms of vacation. 

There are disadvantages in spending your vacation in the 
place where you have been working, because the environment 
suggests the work. It would be best if every teacher could 
get away for a few weeks, at least, as soon as her school is 
over. Where the teacher is not living at home during the 
year, to go home will offer change and relief. 

About one half of the teachers in the United States are in 
one-room rural schools. They are generally young, averaging 
not more than twenty-two or twenty-three. They are prob- 
ably not earning on the average more than $350.00 a year. 
On this salary it is scarcely possible to spend the summer in 
Europe or to travel much. 

In some states nearly all rural teachers are now attending 
summer schools, and probably in most of the northern states 
nearly half of them are attending such sessions. But as the 
rural teacher usually has at least sixteen weeks' summer vaca- 
tion, she still has ten weeks to spend at home or somewhere 
else. 

The Need of a Plan 

It is possible for a summer spent at home to be as profitable 
as one spent elsewhere, but this is not likely where the teacher 



The Summer at Home 181 

merely drifts along without any plan. A quiet summer has 
great value, in allowing time and opportunity for mental 
digestion. It is desirable that a period of quiet should 
follow one of stimulating activity, in order that the new 
material may be assimilated. 

Just how definite and detailed a plan should be made for 
the summer, and tasks set for each day, depends upon the 
teacher. The more exactly special work is assigned to each 
day, the more strenuous the day is sure to be and the less 
recreation one will get out of it; but, on the other hand, 
most teachers will probably accomplish more with such a 
program, and to some it may be necessary in order that any- 
thing worth while shall be done. 

It may be taken for granted that the homecomer will assist 
in the housekeeping. Unless there is an abundance of help, 
this is plainly her duty; she has no right to be a parasite. 
But the teacher cannot afford to make herself a house servant, 
and she should not be satisfied to spend all her time in this 
way if it can be avoided. Still, as between the young woman 
who allows the other members of the family to do all the work, 
in order that she may read or embroider, and the one who does 
her share, we may feel confident that the second is getting 
the larger culture. 

The Care of Little Brothers and Sisters 

Teaching is an expression of the maternal instinct. It 
would be valuable experience for every teacher to care for 
her little brothers and sisters for a time, or to serve in a day 
nursery. This would also be the best possible preparation 
for her duties as wife and mother later. 



1 82 Recreation for Teachers 

The Care of the Sick 

If there is an invalid in the family, the nursing required 
may bring out the tenderness and sympathy which are often 
suppressed by the discipline of the school. It has been advo- 
cated for the last two decades in Scandinavia and Germany, 
that every young woman should be required to give a social 
service year in the same way that every young man is required 
to spend two years in the army. It has been suggested that 
this year should be spent in the care of little children in the 
day nurseries, and in nursing the sick in hospitals. This 
service is desirable in order to bring out feminine qualities 
and to fit them for similar work later in their own households. 
Society has ever revered two types of women: the mother, 
and the nurse or sister of mercy. 

Even though the care of a dependent father or mother or 
a little child confines the teacher to her home so that she can 
see the world only through the " Window in Thrums/ ' if she 
will keep her mind and heart open, she may find the daily 
pageant not uninteresting and the sense of service a rich 
reward. 

There are many roots to the play impulse, and one of these 
is the spirit of motherliness which lies deep in every true 
woman's heart. There is no other play in the world which is so 
satisfying as that of the mother with her little baby, and even 
to care for little brothers and sisters or a sick mother brings 
its sense of satisfaction to the motherly soul, as well as in its 
sense of duty fulfilled. Let no one think that the life of the 
nurse, whether she be a Florence Nightingale or one of the 
rank and file, is wholly one of self-sacrifice ; or if it is self- 
sacrifice, if the true spirit of the nurse is there, it is a self- 
sacrifice which is also self-realization. 



The Summer at Home 183 

Social Life 

Teaching is a social profession, and the teacher should 
always seek a full and stimulating social life. She is the 
main agent in the universalizing of democracy; therefore 
she, of all people, should be democratic. She should associate 
with all ages and classes and seek to know and appreciate 
all. 

In many cities the teacher will have better opportunities for 
recreation and a wholesome social life at home than she could 
have by going away, because of resorts near by, where she 
already knows some who will introduce her to the others. 
But even without this opportunity, wherever there is a 
group of enterprising young people, they can always have as 
many parties and picnics and walks and camps as they care 
for. 

Where the teacher must be the main housekeeper during 
the summer, and it is necessary for her to get three meals a 
day for the other members of the family, she is pretty well 
tied up, and must get her recreation largely in the home and 
through afternoon and evening activities. Probably the 
easiest way for her to get a vacation along with her work is 
to have a friend come and spend a few weeks with her. If 
this friend is herself willing to help with the housework, so as 
not to be an extra burden, her company will relieve the monot- 
ony and give an opportunity for trips and social occasions in 
the home and elsewhere. 

Reading 

The summer is the great opportunity for general reading. 
Some teachers, however, will not have local access to good 



184 Recreation for Teachers 

books. There are usually township or village libraries, but 
the books are mostly popular novels of little educational or 
cultural value. But a teacher can usually secure books from 
the state library, either by making her house a distributing 
center for the neighborhood, or by ordering a special set for 
herself. 

Study 

The teacher who cannot go away to school should be able to 
conduct in her own home a fairly good summer school of which 
she will be superintendent, principal, teacher, and pupil. 
Some teachers cannot do this, because they require the 
stimulus of competition and an examination. But no one can 
consider herself intellectually independent until she is able 
to do so. 

However, the teacher need not be entirely dependent upon 
herself, even though she lives in some obscure mountain valley, 
for she can take a correspondence course at little expense, on 
almost any subject in which she is interested, through the 
extension department of some university or normal school. 

Play and the Open Air 

To the teacher who is anaemic, tubercular, or nervous, 
it is necessary that as much of the summer as possible shall 
be spent out of doors, with pleasant thoughts and such 
exercise as she is able to stand without fatigue. Every teacher 
should cultivate an enthusiasm for some occupation which 
will take her out of doors every day. She should purpose to 
acquire some new outdoor accomplishment each year. There 
can be no general prescription as to what she should do, but 



The Summer at Home 185 

it should be of a kind to develop her chest, put her shoulders 
back and her head up, and give her a good posture. 

The form of exercise which is most universally applicable 
is walking. No teacher is in condition to teach school, 
or to be married, unless she can walk ten miles a day without 
undue weariness. Every teacher may well set this minimum 
standard for herself. Those who have led an inactive life 
during their earlier years, however, must realize that they 
cannot do Marathons at the beginning. 

Tennis is excellent. The teacher owes it to herself to be 
able to play a fairly good game, and the summer is a good 
time to learn if she has not already done so. If she is in the 
country where a horse is available, horseback riding is good. 
Especially for the teacher who is constipated or who suffers 
from indigestion, no better form of exercise could be sug- 
gested. Where there is access to water, there should be op- 
portunity for rowing, canoeing, and swimming. 

If the teacher is in the country or in a small village, where 
there is not much social life, she should plan to camp out, if 
possible, for a couple of weeks. There is scarcely any way in 
which a group of young people can have a better time and 
get better acquainted. 

In these days, when there is an automobile in nearly 
every family, the home-bound teacher, despite her cares, 
may still find time afternoons and evenings for many delightful 
drives. On many of these she may take her friends with 
her. If she has not already learned to drive, the summer 
is a good time to learn. Perhaps she can occasionally take 
the whole family off for a week-end visit or to camp by 
some lake or resort. 



i86 



Recreation for Teachers 



The Psychology and Sociology of the Hammock 

The summer is the time for the teacher to gain poise. 
She needs solitude as well as society. She needs the breadth 
of wider reading, but she needs no less the depth which comes 
only with quiet. She must be at harmony with herself, 
think her problems through and find a solution, dwell within 
herself until she finds peace. Such periods are necessary to 
mental calm, and to them the hammock may invite. 
Not all, however, have the capacity for meditation. For 
many the hammock will mean merely day-dreaming and list- 
lessness. The teacher will have to be her own judge. 



Conclusion 

Every teacher should find something under nearly every 
head in this chapter that will be easy for her to do, so easy, 
in fact, that the suggestion may seem superfluous. Neverthe- 
less, if she has no plan, she will probably not do many of 
them and may find, when school begins again in September, 
that she has no considerable residuum of value from her 
summer, — that she is neither healthier nor handsomer, 
neither more attractive nor more companionable, neither wiser 
nor better informed, than she was when her school closed. 



CHAPTER XII 
SUMMER WORK 

The duration of the school year varies from four months 
in some of the southern states to nearly ten in some of 
the northern. The average probably does not exceed thirty 
weeks. Thirty-six weeks, one hundred eighty days, is almost 
exactly half a year. Thirty weeks, one hundred fifty days — 
and the year of rural teachers seldom exceeds this — is a 
little less than one half a year, exclusive of Sundays. The 
summer vacation ranges in length from about ten weeks to 
over thirty weeks. So long a period is not needed for rest. 
Even if the teacher attends a six weeks' summer school, 
she will still have from four to twenty-four weeks in which 
she may follow some other occupation. 

The meager pay of teachers often makes summer employ- 
ment necessary. Nearly 40 per cent of the New York teachers 
report one or more people dependent upon them. For a 
large proportion of these and other teachers, the question is 
not whether or not summer work shall be undertaken, but 
what it shall be. The New York report says : 

"37.8 per cent of teachers engage in work outside regular 
school-teaching to supplement their income. 15.8 per cent 
report outside work during the school year ; some of this 
group engage in outside work during both the school year 
and the summer season. 22.0 per cent report outside work 
during the summer only." 

187 



1 88 Recreation for Teachers 

Rest as a Change of Occupation 

There is a common belief that recreation consists largely 
in a change of occupation; and if the weariness has come 
from monotony and strain rather than general exhaustion, 
a change of work is often restful. 

Work as a Means of Education 

The earliest school was the school of experience, and the 
occupations of the lawyer, the clergyman, the doctor, the 
politician, and perhaps the business man, are all about as 
educative as the school. The teacher knows too little of the 
world in which the child is living and of the life and occupation 
into which he is to go. It is desirable that every teacher 
should have some experience in all of the occupations of the 
community. 

What Kind of Work? 

The work chosen should be out of doors, good exercise, 
and something which she loves to do. It should be a valu- 
able experience of assistance in her teaching. The English 
teacher might well be a librarian or a story-teller at the 
library or in the playgrounds, or a reporter on some local 
paper. If she has some skill in writing, she may be 
able to pay her expenses at a summer resort by re- 
porting. The teacher of mathematics might well find a 
summer spent in bookkeeping or accounting, or as a 
cashier, helpful. The teacher of agriculture would find farm 
work almost indispensable, or he might supervise boys' club 
work and children's gardens. The teacher of domestic 
economy should find housekeeping, occasionally at least, 



Summer Work 189 

desirable and helpful. The manual training teacher may 
well do carpenter work. The teacher of art may give 
private lessons, or decorate china, or do outdoor sketching; 
or she may with advantage serve as draftsman in the office 
of an architect, a contractor, or an engineer. The music 
teacher may sing at churches, at private parties, or theaters, 
or may play in a local orchestra or band. Physical trainers 
are in demand during the summer, both as directors of 
summer camps and as playground directors. 

In general, the work pursued should be a means to under- 
standing and sympathy between the teacher and the com- 
munity. The large business enterprises might wisely employ 
teachers during the summer, because the teachers will later 
draw their illustrations more or less from this business, and 
thus often unconsciously guide children into it. School men 
usually believe that the teachers are the crucial factor in 
determining the college or university which their students will 
attend. Their influence upon the business world and the 
choice of occupations might be similarly effective if they had 
themselves had experience in the trades or professions in- 
volved. 

The New Point of View 

Heretofore woman has been greatly handicapped in her 
choice of work, both by the prejudices of the community and 
by her lack of physical strength. But now, when all the 
heavier work is done by machines, it is necessary only that 
she have some mechanical ability and physical endurance to 
find nearly every occupation open to her. Owing to war 
conditions, women are everywhere taking up the work which 
men have dropped, and in many cases they are wearing male 



190 Recreation for Teachers 

attire. To be permitted to undertake any enterprise or oc- 
cupation which she may choose means a new emancipation 
of woman. 

It has been generally thought that her periodicity in- 
capacitates woman for any responsible or consecutive work. 
But primitive woman is not largely handicapped by this fact, 
nor is the woman who from infancy has had a normal amount 
of exercise in the open air. Girls who have come up through 
a vigorous childhood, playing tennis and other games, often 
suffer no disability or pain, and are able to carry on their 
regular work without hindrance. At the Normal School of 
Gymnastics in New Haven, under Dr. Arnold, the girls are 
not excused from their regular program at these times, 
except in swimming, and the tabulated reports thus far have 
shown no bad consequences. 

Available Occupations 

From the reports of the teachers of Council Bluffs, it would 
appear that 47 out of 85 of them took part in some kind of 
work during the summer. Of these occupations housework 
was much the most common, while teaching, tutoring, 
gardening, clerical work, work in groceries and libraries, all 
appear. In the reports in earlier chapters from other cities 
of activities during the year, gardening, clerical work, and 
working in stores appear as the most common forms. All of 
these occupations are obviously available and appropriate. 

HOUSEKEEPING 

Housekeeping is much the commonest employment of 
teachers during the summer, as it is of women everywhere. 



Summer Work 191 

Every teacher should have had this experience if she is to 
teach girls. Nevertheless, housekeeping is subject to many 
serious objections. It consists mostly in the repetition of the 
same processes — getting the meals, washing the dishes, mak- 
ing the beds, and sweeping the floors. These, as ordinarily 
pursued, have little educational value. As exercise, house- 
keeping has not much to commend it. It does not develop 
the heart or lungs or strengthen the spine or give a good 
carriage or complexion. Sweeping, especially, is bad for the 
lungs. Housework does not furnish much of value to talk 
or to think about. Unless the housekeeper goes to her work 
with a good conscience, a feeling of success, and an optimistic 
outlook upon life, she is likely to brood while she works and to 
grow morbid. No one should keep house, if she can help it, 
when she is blue or depressed. The mother who expresses 
her love for husband and children in planning their meals and 
darning their stockings may develop into a high spiritual type. 
But without such a motive, housekeeping will have little value 
as training except for the teacher of domestic economy, or 
for one who is soon to have a home of her own. It is, how- 
ever, an admirable occupation for a person who is look- 
ing forward to marriage, both because the work seems 
appropriate, and because it leaves plenty of time for other 
activities. 

AGRICULTURE 

There is some doubt whether the modern normal-trained 
rural teacher is as well prepared to teach country children as 
was the old-time teacher who worked his farm in summer and 
taught during the fall and winter. The farmer teacher un- 
derstood the lives of his children, and knew what material to 
draw upon for illustration. 



192 Recreation for Teachers 

Every rural teacher should have some farm experience. 
Probably three fourths of our rural teachers are women, and 
our traditions are against women's working in the fields. 
But farm work has changed utterly in the last forty 
or fifty years. The farmer no longer plants or cultivates 
his crops with a hoe, nor pulls the weeds by hand. Nearly 
all the work is done by horses or tractors. A young 
woman may be quite competent to ride a mowing machine, 
a reaper, a cultivator, a hay tedder or loader, or any other 
modern farm implement. If she is to do the full work of a 
hired man, she must be fairly strong, must know how to 
harness the horses or operate the tractor, and must have some 
mechanical ability. But this might be done by the farmer, 
and doubtless would be done gladly, in order to secure 
help in these times. A number of Vassar girls have been 
doing farm and garden work during the past summer. 

It is also possible for the teacher at times to make fairly 
good wages by picking berries or fruit. This has some of the 
interest of discovery about it. Nearly every one enjoys it 
for a time. There are also, in many country districts, can- 
neries of vegetables and fruits which offer steady work at 
fairly good pay, though this will probably not be as hygienic 
or pleasant. 

CANVASSING AND INSURANCE 

One of the commonest occupations during the summer is 
canvassing, usually for books or household articles. This, 
however, does not appeal to many. Life insurance and fire 
insurance would probably be more pleasant, but comparatively 
few teachers have thus far undertaken them. 

The government might well use teachers to a greater extent 



Summer Work 193 

in taking the census, but this is not likely to happen unless the 
census gets outside of politics or education gets nearer to 
the national government. Having the teachers take a part 
or all of the census would do more to connect the school with 
the community than almost anything else that could be done, 
because it would give the teachers just the information about 
the community which they need. That this work is feasible 
has been demonstrated. During the spring of 191 7, at the 
time of the imperative call to mobilize our agricultural forces 
to meet the pressing need of the world for food, a crop census 
of New York was taken in from three to four days by the older 
children working under the direction of the teachers. Cen- 
suses covering different industrial conditions have also been 
taken by teachers in various cities of New Jersey. 

WAITING 

Waiting on table is coming to be an occupation for young 
women everywhere. Colored waiters are being displaced, 
because they are too anxious for tips and too officious. It 
is pleasanter to have an attractive young woman at one's 
elbow than a colored man. 

There are objections to such work, and for any young woman 
to wait in a city restaurant or hotel involves a rather high 
social risk. Such a position would not be acceptable to 
teachers. But there are many hotels at summer resorts 
where all the waiters are college girls or teachers. Such a 
position has positive advantages, at least for rural teachers. 
It makes them acquainted with city people, and probably 
with some of considerable refinement, experience, and travel. 
It allows them to have at least a partial vacation and to 



194 Recreation for Teachers 

earn, at the same time, a fairly good income. The social 
dangers of the city restaurant and hotel are not so pronounced 
at the summer resort, and if proper sleeping quarters are 
furnished, this is not an objectionable summer occupation. 

SERVING AS TUTOR OR GOVERNESS 

There are always a good many retarded children who require 
tutoring during the summer. In some cases the teacher may 
profitably collect a small class of such children at her home or 
in one of the school buildings, if there are no special schools 
for them. Generally, however, she will teach only one or two 
children at a time, and for only two or three hours a day, so 
she will still have ample time for recreation. 

Wealthy families who spend their summers in travel or 
at resorts often want some one to take charge of their younger 
children and perhaps to tutor one of the older ones. This 
may give the teacher an opportunity to see a side of life which 
would not otherwise be accessible to her. Her path will not 
always be one of roses, since she may not be treated as an 
equal, and pampered children are usually not easy to manage ; 
but these conditions are not to be taken for granted. Both the 
lady of the house and the children may be all that could be 
desired. 

AS DIRECTOR OF A SUMMER CAMP OR WALKING TRD? 

There are not many positions of this kind, but camping 
and walking are becoming more common, and it is probable 
that there will be greater and greater demand for leaders. 
The teacher who is fond of children, who understands the 
out-of-doors and its activities, and who can control without 



Summer Work 195 

undue effort, should find the summer camp delightful. It 
gives an opportunity for intimate companionship, and for that 
intensive development of friendship which is one of the 
sweetest things in life. It will always bring with it a sense 
of responsibility, but under proper conditions this should not 
involve much strain. 

If walking should ever approximate in this country the 
popularity which it has abroad, several thousand teachers 
would be needed every summer to conduct walking trips. In 
Germany these trips are taken mostly by classes of boys under 
the supervision of men teachers. It is not certain that Amer- 
ican mixed classes could be taken successfully by women 
teachers. Apparently a mixed class would need two leaders. 

AS GUIDE 

It would be difficult to find a more wholly ideal form of 
summer employment. The guide is in the open air among 
the beauties of nature, and for the most part with people of 
some prominence and wealth. The associations should be 
pleasant, the exercise excellent, and the training offered in 
every way desirable. Regular examinations are given for 
guides to serve in the national parks. At Long's Peak Inn, of 
which Enos Mills is the proprietor, a competent woman serves 
as guide during the summer. He says her services are con- 
stantly required, and that the demand for expert guides is 
much greater than the supply. There are many wealthy 
people who come into the mountains from the city, who do 
not know a woodpecker from a chickadee or an elm tree from 
an oak, and who are afraid to go out into the woods or the 
mountains alone. They want some one to show them the 
sights and take care of them. 



196 Recreation for Teachers 

AS A PLAYGROUND DIRECTOR 

The organization of play is one of the best possible occu- 
pations for teachers during the summer. It offers vigorous 
exercise out of doors, and gives the teacher an intimate 
acquaintance and sympathy with children. It promises a 
fairly satisfactory compensation to a goodly number of 
teachers, for it is in the summer that the largest number of 
playgrounds are open. The teacher may already know at 
least some of the children, and so find the discipline as well 
as the organization of play easy. There are many thousands 
of such positions already, and there must soon be many 
thousands more. 



CHAPTER XIII 
SUMMER TEACHING 

Between five and ten per cent of city teachers teach more 
or less during the summer. This percentage is increasing 
rapidly and may soon be forty or fifty. 

Teaching has been unique among professions for the length 
of its summer vacation, which is still in most places nearly 
or quite three months. The justification for the long vaca- 
tion lies partly in the fact that the children do not get much 
vital experience from their school work, partly in the fact 
that many of the parents leave the city during the summer 
and wish to take their children with them ; but to some extent 
it is merely a survival of earlier times when our population 
was essentially rural and the children were expected to help 
with the farm work during the summer. At present there 
is no necessity for it, so far as the majority of children are 
concerned, except to allow them to come into contact with 
life, and to have some real experiences. 

There is something fundamentally wrong with any profes- 
sion which requires three months a year for recuperation. 
No person has any right so far to deplete his energies. From 
any normal degree of fatigue he should recover completely 
in two weeks. Nor should the children need a three months' 
vacation in order to recuperate from their school work, but 

197 



198 



Recreation for Teachers 



they do need a long period in order to get the vital experiences 
which life in too many of our schools denies them. 



Comparison of Salaries 

About a quarter of the New York teachers, as shown in 
the study of Dr. Wood, take up some occupation other than 
housekeeping during the summer. For many this is necessary 
because their salaries are not sufficient to maintain them 
for the twelve months. How inadequate their incomes are 
is shown in the following tables taken from "A Comparative 
Study of the Salaries of Teachers and School Officers," issued 
by the Bureau of Education, 191 5. 

Average Yearly Salaries of Elementary School Teachers Com- 
pared with Salaries of Workmen in Building Trades for 
Certain Cities, 1913 1 



Cities 


Teach- 


Brick- 


Car- 
pen- 


Ma- 
chin- 


MOLD- 


Paint- 


Plas- 


Plumb- 




ers 


layers 


ters 


ists 


ERS 


ers 


terers 


ers 


San Francisco, Cal. 


£1124 


#1390 


#964 


#944 


£lI26 


#1081 


#1309 


3I540 


Denver, Colo. . . 


986 


I053 


960 


1023 


967 


779 


1082 


IO54 


Chicago, 111. . . 


IO34 


1293 


1139 


884 


942 


1232 


1326 


1394 


Kansas City, Kans. 


678 


1247 


930 


956 


931 


1066 


1331 


1373 


Baltimore, Md. 


692 


I057 


908 


824 


941 


767 


Il6l 


IIOI 


Boston, Mass. . . 


IOOI 


1244 


IO26 


1074 


980 


957 


1 20I 


1320 


Minneapolis, Minn. 


937 


1197 


1030 


958 


927 


921 


1 20I 


1044 


New York, NY . 


1197 


1078 


1076 


934 


986 


833 


II42 


1245 


Cleveland, Ohio . 


791 


II92 


992 


875 


945 


1003 


1 132 


1219 


Dallas, Texas . . 


670 


1460 


I035 


1080 




902 


1365 


1321 


Seattle, Wash. . . 


1021 


1174 


948 


896 




975 


1259 


1617 



1 Salaries for workmen are actual average earnings. (Bureau of Railway 
Economics. " Earnings and cost of living of skilled workmen in the East and 
in the West." Washington, D. C, September, 1914. Exhibit No. 39.) 



Summer Teaching 



199 



Average Yearly Salaries of Elementary Teachers Compared 
with Salaries of Policemen and Firemen in Certain Cities 



Cities ] 



Selma, Ala 

Fort Smith, Ark. . . 
San Francisco, Cal. 
Colorado Springs, Colo. 
Denver, Colo. . . . 
Trinidad, Colo. . . . 
New Britain, Conn. 
Washington, D.C. . . 
Tampa, Fla 



Teachers 



#552 
546 

1 1 24 
871 
552 
741 
605 
982 
441 



POLICKMKN 



#840 

900 

I464 

960 

I050 

I080 

IO80 

Il65 

990 



KlKKMKN 



#660 
780 

I020 
I050 
IO8O 

950 

I062 

84O 



The survey of Dr. Wood reveals the following conditions 
for something over two thousand teachers scattered over 
the state of New York. 

"Teachers' salaries range from less than #200 to over #2000. The 
largest single group of teachers (21.9%) comes in the #300 to #400 salary 
class. The median salary for the whole group comes in the #500 to #600 
class. 81.9% of all teachers receive salaries of less than #800 a year. 
Salaries of men are much higher than those of women ; and salaries of 
urban are much higher than those of rural teachers. 61.2% of men 
teachers and 12.9% of women teachers receive salaries of #800 or over. 
31.2% of urban and 7.0% of rural teachers receive salaries of #800 and 
over." 

In regard to these conditions, Dr. Wood says : 

" Consideration of the above data warrants the statement that the 
group of teachers studied have heavy responsibilities ; that the salaries 
quoted are in most cases quite inadequate to meet these responsibilities ; 
and that the lack of opportunity for social life and recreation and the 
very poor boarding accommodations of a large percentage of teachers are 
deplorable." 



200 Recreation for Teachers 

When it is realized that the salaries given in the government 
statistics are those of teachers in the larger cities, where they 
are nearly twice what they are in the small towns and open 
country, and when it is remembered, also, that a considerable 
proportion of all teachers have some one dependent upon them, 
the necessity for their increasing their income by some activity 
during the summer must be realized. 

However, it is best for the teacher's welfare and growth 
that she should have a vacation from the three R's. No one 
can go on for twelve months of the year drilling in the elements 
of arithmetic and geography and grammar and continue 
to grow as an individual, unless her outside life is very 
exceptional. 

The Summer School 

In most of the countries of Europe the summer vacation 
is only four or five weeks in length. There are many indica- 
tions of the early organization of this long summer period 
by the school boards in this country. The University of 
Chicago was the pioneer in starting a four-term session, 
but now nearly all our universities and normal schools have 
a session during the summer which is comparable in attendance 
and work to any other during the year, though in most cases 
it is only six weeks in length. 

Back in 1886 Superintendent Ballinger of Newark, New 
Jersey, started a system of vacation schools, which were main- 
tained on nearly the same plan as the other schools. In 1898 
the city of New York opened its vacation schools and play- 
grounds, with the morning devoted to industrial crafts and 
the afternoon to play. The city of Cleveland has a summer 
term of eight weeks similar to the other terms. In the city of 



Summer Teaching 201 

Gary, a student may do a year of school work by taking 
three of the four terms. 

In most of the larger school systems at least two or three 
varieties of summer activities are now carried on. There 
are classes for left-overs, classes in manual training, domestic 
economy, and gardening, and some organized play. These 
activities are increasing rapidly in extent and attendance 
from year to year. If growth continues in the present 
direction, it will not be long before all our larger cities will 
have what will practically amount to a four-term school 
year. 

It is not likely that we shall ever have a summer term for 
strictly rural schools, certainly not for one-room schools, 
and probably not for consolidated schools. However, there 
may be exceptions in the extreme northern part of the country 
where in some cases they have their long vacation in the winter 
on account of the danger from blizzards and the difficulty 
in reaching the schools at that time. But, in general, garden- 
ing and farming, hunting and fishing, and the other activities 
of rural children are quite as educative as anything the school 
can offer. 

The summer school is needed in the city, for the reason 
that there is nothing for city children to do during the long 
vacation, and a summer of idleness often undoes the work 
of the year. The playground is not a complete solution of 
this problem, for the reason that the children do not stay there 
long enough. If parents can afford to travel with their chil- 
dren, or to take them away to a farm, or to a cottage at the 
shore or in the mountains, all is well ; but for those who are 
obliged to remain in the city, it is essential that something 
more should be done. 



202 Recreation for Teachers 

Program of the Summer School 

Every feature spoken of in this chapter may be found in 
operation in the various cities of the country, hut in most 
cases the program is still very inadequate and only a small 
proportion of the children are being reached. If each city 
would select the best features from the work of all and combine 
them into a composite program, this would offer about 
what is needed. Such a program should comprise at least 
the following elements. 

SCHOLASTIC WORK 

In most of the larger cities, there are certain classrooms 
in which special instruction is given to children who have 
failed to make their grades. The percentage of children 
taking this summer drill is increasing each year. This work 
is greatly reducing the cost of the school system for the 
instruction of these children during two months, saves the 
city the expense, both in salary and in schoolroom space, of 
teaching them, as left-overs, for a period of nine months. 
Moreover, the children are spared the discouragement of 
losing their places and having to spend much wearisome 
time in repeating the grade. The necessity of studying 
during the summer if they neglect their work during the year 
may also prove just the incentive to diligence which is needed 
by some children. 

But not only is there wisdom in giving this review to those 
who have failed to accomplish the year's work, but it is good 
for every child to have some study in summer so that he shall 
not lose interest. In the case of children up to grade, how- 
ever, this might well be supplementary to the work of the 



Summer Teaching 203 

year. For instance, historical stories, fuller histories than 
those on the course of study, and books of travel covering 
the work in geography might be read. There should be 
periods of story-telling, and in general the stories should 
be chosen from accessible books, so that the children may 
be tempted to further reading. 

THE INDUSTRIAL CRAFTS 

Work in all the industrial crafts should be maintained 
during the summer, and probably in greater variety than 
during the year. This is the best time for manual training 
because there are many things that the children want es- 
pecially to make at this time, such as wagons, kites, etc. 
It is also an excellent time for cooking, sewing, and house- 
keeping courses. But these are only a few out of dozens 
of similar activities which are already being carried on in 
the schools of New York and many other cities, such as 
nursing, clay modeling, bent iron work, burnt leather work, 
burnt wood work, crocheting, basketry, cobbling, and chair- 
caning. 

In Gary the children, in connection with their courses in 
carpentry and painting, make the repairs upon the school 
buildings and keep them painted. They also make nearly 
all of the play equipment. This might well be adopted by 
other cities as one of their practical summer features. The 
children could see that the fences are in repair, that the grounds 
are in order, that the gullies made by rains are rilled in, that 
projecting roots are cut off, that stones and brickbats are 
picked up so that the ground is in condition to play upon. 
Under supervision they could lay out baseball diamonds and 



204 Recreation for Teachers 






volley ball and basket ball courts, make the sand bins, and 
erect the simpler pieces of play apparatus. This would be 
excellent physical and civic training. 

ART 

Art work, including drawing, designing, and painting in 
water color, is usually a large feature in summer schools. 
In some cases the work in designing is correlated with the 
work in manual training, articles designed in the art room 
being constructed in the shops. 

MUSIC 

The summer is an excellent time for singing and for band 
and orchestral practice. In many cities there are now fine 
school bands and even orchestras. Where there is a skillful 
teacher of either vocal or orchestral music, the children will 
enjoy two or three music periods a week. 

ENTERTAINMENTS 

For one period a day there might well be motion pictures 
or a phonograph concert or dramatics. These would be 
enjoyed; and might be as valuable as anything on the 
program. 

BOY SCOUTS AND CAMP FIRE GIRLS 

In a summer organization of the school there would be 
ample opportunity for all those activities which are ordi- 
narily carried on by the Boy Scouts and the Camp Fire Girls. 
These might well be put into the curriculum for the older 
children, under teachers who have had special training. 



Summer Teaching 205 

Dean Russell of Teachers College says that Scouting is 
the greatest contribution to education which has been made 
during the past decade. Any one who realizes the helpful- 
ness and manliness, the honesty and patriotism, which are 
inculcated through its spirit and its activities must realize 
that it offers a training which every adolescent boy should 
have. Much the same can be said of the Camp Fire as a 
training for girls. 

ORGANIZED PLAY AND ATHLETICS 

In the organization of the vacation schools of New York 
City, a forenoon of industrial crafts and an afternoon of 
organized play were called for. This arrangement was good, 
but it would probably be better in most cases to have an hour 
of organized play in the program both forenoon and afternoon. 
If this play is vigorously conducted, it is possible to give to 
every child a good physique. Under Mr. Nash in Oakland, 
with the Standard Test of the Public School Athletic League 
applied to most of the children, it is found that the average 
of the city is going up from year to year. 

GARDENING 

Gardening should normally be one of the larger activities 
for the summer school. It will utilize and beautify the waste 
and ugly spaces around the city, and should bring a consider- 
able financial return. Commissioner Claxton estimates that 
the average child, on a plot of ground fifty by a hundred feet 
in size, will raise fifty dollars' worth of vegetables, though 
in times like these they may be worth three or four times as 
much. He says one teacher can supervise the gardening 



206 Recreation for Teachers 

of one hundred children ; this will mean a direct return to the 
city of five thousand dollars for her summer salary, which 
would not exceed five hundred. Not only will the parents 
get this financial help, but, what is more important, the 
children will learn much of value about botany and agri- 
culture, will get fairly good exercise in the open air, and will 
be kept away from the temptations of the street. 

There is no reason why gardening should be confined to 
the raising of vegetables. It should also see that the city 
is beautified. Just before the Exposition in San Francisco 
the sixty teachers of agriculture in the Los Angeles schools 
supervised the planting of flowers and vines and shrubs 
by the children in the yards of their own homes. The 
result is that there is scarcely a home in Los Angeles 
that does not have an abundance of flowers, and the city 
has become beautiful. This might be done in every city 
of the country. The sale price of any piece of property 
is largely increased thereby. In fact, of two houses identical 
in construction, standing side by side, one surrounded 
by flowers and vines, the other in a bare yard, almost 
any one would be willing to pay twenty-five or even 
fifty per cent more for the house with the beautiful 
grounds. 

civic WORK 

If there were in the public schools a competent teacher 
of gardening and forestry, the children might also take 
over a good share of the gardening, tree trimming, flower 
planting, and the like, in the city parks. This would be both 
interesting and educative to the children, giving them a new 
sense of responsibility for the beauty of the city which would 



Summer Teaching 207 

prevent the type of vandalism that is often found in our 
public parks. 

The older boys would enjoy and profit by taking care of the 
city trees. They could also plant new trees and exterminate 
the various tree pests. They might well do a certain amount 
of the trimming, at least under direction, and if there were 
spraying to be done, there is nothing that they would enjoy 

more. 

They might even lay a part of the concrete walks. I have 
seen a number of these laid by the children that seemed to be 
just as good as any others. I have no doubt the children 
enjoyed the work. In this age of concrete, this might well 
be a part of the education of every child. 

NATURE STUDY TRIPS 

During the summer the children should become acquainted 
with nature. They should mount a complete collection of 
wild flowers, learn to know the common rocks, recognize, and 
know something of the habits of at least fifty varieties of 
birds, and distinguish the ordinary crops, and trees. 

These trips should often last for the day and include a 
picnic lunch, a bonfire, and the playing of games. In the 
larger cities there would have to be a preliminary trolley ride 
for most of the children, but as they would be going out be- 
tween eight and nine, at the time when others were coming in, 
it should be possible to arrange with the street car companies 
for a special school ticket at a cost of not more than two cents, 
perhaps not more than one. The children would return 
at four or five o'clock, when the people were going home from 
business and the cars would be running in almost empty, 
so that the cheap ticket would be appropriate both ways. 



208 Recreation for Teachers 

VISITS TO INDUSTRIAL PLANTS 

The children should be taken to the interesting factories 
of the city, such as steel mills, car works, automobile works, 
etc., and to all public buildings and plants belonging to the 
city, such as the city hall, the public library, the Y. M. and 
Y. W. C. A., the water works, electric light plant, etc. 

WALKING TRIPS 

In 1914, 65,000 children were taken out from the city of 
Berlin on walking trips of a week or more in duration. In 
the summer of 191 5, fifty- two boys walked from the Columbia 
Park Boys' Club of San Francisco to the Exposition at San 
Diego, a distance of six hundred fifteen miles. They were 
followed by wagons containing tents and provisions, and they 
worked along the way so that they came back with about 
$35.00 each which they had earned during the trip. Most 
boys ten years of age or older should go on a walking trip 
of a week or more every summer. In most cases the parents 
would be glad to pay the necessary expense. If the city 
owned the wagons or motor trucks for the transportation 
of tents and bedding, and the regular teachers took charge, 
this should not involve any great outlay. Arrangements 
should be made for athletic contests with children in the 
cities visited, and there should be opportunities to swim, 
play games, make collections of various sorts, and perhaps, 
also, in some cases to work for pay at gardening or fruit 
picking. 

CAMPING OUT 

There should be provision for all children to camp out 
at least two weeks every summer. They might live in tents 



Summer Teaching 209 

like those of the camps now conducted by the playground 
departments in a number of cities, or in cabins such as those 
of the more permanent camps of Los Angeles and San Diego. 
But whatever the form of shelter, the children should have 
abundant outdoor experiences. Short courses in agriculture 
might be given at these camps. There should be ample op- 
portunities for swimming, walking, and the playing of games. 
A number of western cities have purchased camp sites within 
the last few years. 

THE SCHOOL FARM 

The best arrangement would be a good-sized farm belong- 
ing to the school system, with ample dormitories for children. 
This might be also a city truck garden, and as such be used 
in place of a stoneyard or woodyard for the employment 
of the unemployed and hoboes during the year, while at 
the same time it served to reduce the high cost of living 
for the city. Such a truck garden of ample size would 
be the best possible safeguard against excessive prices and 
perhaps the best form of employment that could be provided 
in hard times. One of the best places to try out socialism 
would be a communal truck garden for a city. 

On such a farm the children might receive real instruction 
in gardening and truck raising. They might do the cook- 
ing and practically all the work, so that little expense would 
be involved. 

The city of Fresno, California, has for a number of years 
had a farm of about four hundred acres, which has recently 
been considerably increased in size, on which it has deposited 
its sewage, the land being utilized for the raising of 
alfalfa. 



210 Recreation for Teachers 

Attendance 

Supposing the four-term school to be organized, should the 
children be required to attend all the year? For how many 
hours a day, and for how many weeks should they come 
during the summer? These questions must be decided 
largely by experiment and by the expense involved. Prob- 
ably in the beginning attendance should not be required, 
but the program should be made so attractive that the chil- 
dren would wish to come. This plan would involve less ex- 
pense than obligatory attendance. It would also select the 
children who were most earnest-minded in these matters 
and who would be less likely to make trouble in the rather 
irregular and free activities of the summer. 

Probably a five-hour day would not be excessive, and even a 
six-hour day might be advisable. Ten or even twelve weeks 
of such a summer school should not be too long. 

The Old School Plants 

It may be remarked that this scheme is all right for schools 
that have ample grounds, gymnasiums, and swimming pools, 
shops, auditoriums, and the like, but that the larger part 
of our city schools were built twenty or more years ago and 
are practically without any of these facilities. 

It is true that the old schools would be much handicapped 
in summer, as they are during the year, by these conditions, 
but it is not impossible to carry on a considerable portion 
of this program even in a school which has nothing but class- 
rooms. The review work, the dramatics and story telling, 
the music and art, the bent iron work, the burnt wood work 
and burnt leather work, the crocheting, raffia, and many 



Summer Teaching 211 

similar activities would be possible, and these are sufficient 
to make the work worth while. But it must be noticed that 
not more than half of the work suggested is to be done at the 
school, in any event. These children can have athletics in 
the parks, can have gardens at home, and can assist in caring 
for trees. They can be taken on nature study trips, walking 
trips, and camping trips as easily as children from a modern 
school plant. 

The Solution of the Child Problem 

Such a summer school is the real solution of the problem 
of idle children in summer. For a couple of decades the 
playground has been advocated as the solution, but there 
is probably not a city in the United States where, if we were 
to divide the number of hours spent on the playgrounds 
by the number of children in the city, we would find the 
average attendance as much as fifteen minutes a day. Fifteen 
minutes out of a day is not much, and the child still has 
nearly all his time for idleness and the street. Unless the 
playground has given ideals, games, and other activities, 
and the spirit of sportsmanship which are carried outside, 
the playgrounds as organized at present are practically a 
negligible quantity to the majority of the children. 

The growing child needs about two hours of vigorous exer- 
cise every day. But no child cares to play vigorously for 
much more than this. The playgrounds cannot solve the 
problem by themselves. The child wants to make things 
and to see things of interest. The program outlined will 
occupy the child's time in things that are both recreational 
and educational; it will give him interests and ideals which 



2i2 Recreation for Teachers 






will dominate the rest of his time; it offers a real solution 
of the problem. 

Who Shall Teach in Summer Schools 

During the summer rural teachers will not be teaching, 
and many of them would enjoy spending the summer in the 
city. They would be glad to teach at a comparatively 
small salary. As teachers of agriculture, manual training, 
nature study, and gardening, and as directors of walks, 
camps, and similar activities, they should be as efficient as 
city teachers, and the experience should be as valuable and 
pleasant to them as to the children. 

So far as city teachers continue to teach in the city, it 
would be an advantage if many of them might exchange 
positions with teachers in other cities, so that they might 
have the change of thought which comes with a new location, 
the meeting of new people, and new experiences. 

Probably there are many teachers who should not under- 
take to give the review work in a summer term. But if they 
conducted nature study trips, walking trips, camping trips, 
or similar activities, the summer should be a real relief from 
the strain of the year's work and perhaps as true a vacation 
as they could well have. 

These summer sessions would offer an admirable oppor- 
tunity to normal students to get their first experience in 
teaching. On account of the value of the experience, they 
could afford to serve at a low rate of compensation. The 
summer term should not mean a prohibitive expense to the 
city. 

A large percentage of city teachers would apply for 



Summer Teaching 213 

positions. But the work could be carried on with about 
a third to one half of the regular force. If each teacher took 
a long vacation every two or three years, this should meet 
her every need even to the opportunity of foreign travel. 

Every one realizes that teachers' salaries are too low. The 
opportunity for increasing salaries through summer teaching 
and further study offers a possible solution, as in this way 
the continued training of the teacher can be secured and her 
salary advanced. 

If the schools closed the first of June and began again the 
first of October, this would give a summer period of four 
months. If there were two weeks' vacation at the beginning 
and the end of this period, three months would remain for the 
summer term. This should make it possible to put all the 
gardening and several other activities into the summer and 
to try out then a freer type of school similar to the one which 
Miss Johnson has established at Fairhope, Alabama, or to 
the Montessori schools. 

Even with this fourth term there would still be four free 
weeks in summer, one or two weeks at Christmas, and one 
or two weeks at Easter, so that the teachers' vacations would 
total a month and a half to two months, which is three to four 
times as much as most professional people have. 

This type of school has its greatest possibilities in the 
South, where there are four or five months during which the 
weather is too hot for much scholastic work and where the 
summer vacation is universally long. At present southern 
children are handicapped by a short school year, but the 
organization of the summer in accordance with this plan 
might not only overcome this drawback, but give them a 
positive advantage educationally. 



214 Recreation for Teachers 

Such activities are increasing in all our cities, but there 
is still an enormous wreckage of child life due to neglect and 
idleness. The salvage will cost money. The question to be 
decided is whether or not the children are worth the expense. 
Los Angeles believes that they are. Its Chamber of Com- 
merce has at times advertised that its school system is the 
most expensive in the world. This might be good business 
in many cities. Most parents want their children to have 
the best that can be offered, and if necessary they will econo- 
mize on themselves to secure it. 

However, the expense of the four- term school would not 
actually be so great as might be supposed. A large part of 
the manual training, domestic economy, gardening, and similar 
activities which occupy a part of the program of the year 
would be accomplished during the summer, as well as a certain 
amount of the scholastic work. The consequent shortening 
of the period of the elementary school by one or two years 
might result in an actual saving. It would also enable school 
systems that have inadequate equipment for manual training 
and domestic economy to provide these activities during 
the summer. 

Nearly all of the activities mentioned are of a recreational 
nature. If the teacher is a lover of children, and does 
not find the discipline overstrenuous, she should find such 
a summer about as restful as a vacation, and the attitude 
and new methods which she might acquire would tend to 
relieve the strain of her regular teaching. 



CHAPTER XIV 
SUMMER PLAY 

We have already indicated several ways, not strictly 
recreative, of spending the summer. But whatever else the 
teacher may undertake, whether it be work or study or teach- 
ing, the summer should always bring her an opportunity for 
at least two weeks of complete rest and recreation — two 
weeks in which she can do just what she wants to do and which, 
so far as possible, shall be a realization of deep desires that 
have not found adequate expression during the year. Practi- 
cally no form of summer study or of teaching will preclude 
this playtime, for the summer vacation is usually from ten 
to fourteen weeks in length, while the summer school usually 
lasts only six weeks. Thus there will be from four to eight 
weeks free even if the teacher attends a summer session. 

Every four or five years the teacher should spend an entire 
summer as a vacation, but nearly anything described in this 
chapter can be enjoyed after the close or before the beginning 
of the summer school. 

Visiting 

Visiting is the common form of recreation in country dis- 
tricts — often the only form of recreation that country 
people take. There is much to be said for it. Visiting yields 
companionship of a rather intimate kind. It makes one 
acquainted with the hostess's circle of friends and generally 
brings abundant opportunities for walks and drives and 

215 



216 Recreation for Teachers 

parties. Where the visitor really makes himself or herself 
at home in the social group to which the friend belongs, it is 
one of the most stimulating and helpful experiences, often 
leading to a significant development of character and per- 
sonality. For the teacher, it has the advantage, also, that 
it usually does not involve much expense, unless the person 
visited lives at a distance. 

Camping Out 

Besides visiting, the summer camp is almost the only 
form of recreation which can well be afforded by many rural 
teachers. With the possible exception of Kansas, Nebraska, 
Texas, and parts of Colorado, there are few places in America 
where a group may not find a good camping place within 
twenty-five or fifty miles. The expense of spending two or 
three weeks in a summer camp should not exceed that of 
staying at home, if the person is paying for board and room. 

The camp should be in the woods, with water available 
for drinking, rowing, swimming, and fishing. Drinking water 
is absolutely essential ; so are shade and wood for bonfires 
and cooking. The ideal site is a wooded hillside overlooking 
a pleasant body of water, with a good spring in the neighbor- 
hood, and an abundance of dry branches upon the ground. A 
mountain canon, also, furnishes admirable conditions. If 
there are ten or fifteen in the party, the tents should usually 
be arranged in a semicircle, so that they may have the camp 
fire in the center, if possible, under a great tree. 

The pleasure of camping lies largely in its companionship, 
and the party should be friends or at least possible friends. 
Camping has a stronger appeal for men than for women ; 
but there are few who do not enjoy a camp fire, and merely 



Summer Play 217 

to cook and sit about it at night, telling stories or singing to 
the music of a guitar or banjo, fills the memory with pictures 
not easily effaced. It was under such conditions that the 
infancy of the race was passed, and around these experiences 
have developed the deepest emotions and longings. They 
command a well of energy which is scarcely touched by any- 
thing else. One who has not camped out can scarcely visualize 
the early history of this country with its hunters, trappers, 
and pioneers. Camping invites to walking and canoeing and 
rowing and swimming and nature study. A camping trip 
may easily be as educative as a similar period at a summer 
school. 

The camp will be more interesting to many if there are 
both women and men. If there are no men, a big dog is often 
a comfort to the timid, and may be of assistance if any one is 
lost. It is probably best, in most quarters, that there should 
be some one in the party with firearms, though the danger of a 
woman's being molested in the woods is probably less, on an 
average, than it is along the alleys or even streets of any of 
our great cities. 

Tents can sometimes be secured cheaply by advertising. 
It often happens, also, that tents in fairly good condition are 
discarded by the National Guard or the standing army. 
These can usually be obtained at a low cost. After this war 
is over, there will undoubtedly be a great many army tents 
that can be obtained cheaply. 

The Summer Resort 

Most summer resorts are rather inane and idle places where 
people without many ideas or serious purposes go to be amused. 
The attractions are generally on a rather low social and 



218 Recreation for Teachers 

intellectual plane. Not much growth can be expected at 
the resort to which one goes to play bridge on the hotel 
veranda, or to crochet or gossip, with an occasional dance or 
picture show. There is no place where the organization of 
recreation is more needed. Many waste the entire summer 
because there is nothing worth while going on. 

AT THE SHORE 

Resorts are usually located either at the shore or in the 
mountains. It is worth while for every teacher, at least 
once in her life, to spend a couple of weeks at resorts 
of both these kinds. Still, the majority of people at the sea- 
shore loaf about upon the hotel or cottage verandas in the 
morning, read a few novels and play a few card games, and 
in the afternoon loaf upon the beach in their bathing suits. 
In the evening they probably attend a dance or a moving- 
picture show. There is little of value in such experiences, 
unless there is a group of young people whose life together is 
stimulating and herpful. In the teacher's playtime, wherever 
taken, she should spend one or two hours outdoors every 
day, in walking or rowing or swimming or canoeing or horse- 
back riding or tennis. 

IN THE MOUNTAINS 

Life in the mountains is usually more strenuous than it is 
at the shore. There is no stretch of warm sand in which one 
may hibernate mentally while overstimulated sexually. The 
mountains are a constant challenge to climbing and walking 
and horseback riding, and often to fishing and hunting. Those 
who go to them are likely to be of a more strenuous type than 



Summer Play 219 

those who seek their recreation at the shore. There is a con- 
stant stimulus to activity in the very air. At most mountain 
resorts there are opportunities for tennis and baseball, for 
horseback riding, for hikes and camps. 

The mountains offer more of educational value, also, than 
the seashore. There is usually a considerable variety of birds 
and trees and flowers ; and nature reveals her geological 
secrets here as nowhere else. From the mountain one gets 
an idea of local geography such as cannot be had elsewhere. 
Moreover, the physical elevation often gives an elevation of 
mind that may lead to a new vision of the dignity and sig- 
nificance of life. 

The Chautauqua 

The chautauqua stands between the summer resort and the 
summer school. It has some of the advantages of each and 
is in many ways an admirable substitute for both. A 
chautauqua, like the one at Chautauqua, New York, or Bay 
View, Michigan, is often better for a tired teacher than a hot 
and strenuous summer school. 

The chautauqua has an advantage over the summer resort, 
in that it selects those who have intellectual interests. The 
teacher will probably find more congenial company there 
than she will at the resort. The chautauqua in general is 
cheaper than the summer resort and safer from a social point 
of view. 

At the large permanent chautauquas there is a good organi- 
zation of play and physical training, usually with definite 
courses in games, folk dances, and gymnastics. There are 
sure to be tennis and swimming and rowing and horseback 
riding. While on most chautauqua programs there is much 



220 Recreation for Teachers 

froth, it is possible for the teacher to select many excellent 
lectures and to hear many great men. She can rely on 
having some good music and may see some good plays and 
dramatic presentations. The moving picture is bound to 
play a larger and larger part, offering the best and most expen- 
sive of the newer spectacles. 

Travel 

Nearly every teacher wishes to travel. Her geography and 
history constantly suggest it to her. Travel makes geography 
and geology, forestry and agriculture, and all the different oc- 
cupations and professions live. Travel is almost a necessity 
to make teaching vivid. A century ago it was considered 
absolutely essential to the completion of an education. It 
gives a breadth of view and an intimate touch with life which 
can scarcely be secured in any other way. 

In one of his essays, Emerson speaks rather disparagingly 
of travel, saying : " What is true anywhere is true everywhere. 
There is no place in the world where they do not wash the 
milk pans and put them out in the sun to dry." He says in 
another place, that there are some who will see more in a trip 
to a country town than others will in a tour of Europe, and 
that no one anywhere discovers anything greater than he has 
already in himself. This is doubtless true. A visitor in 
Porto Rico will find the houses full of pictures of snow scenes 
in the North, while in the North we think of the tropics as 
the place of wonder and romance. Doubtless there is nothing 
much more wonderful in the natural world than we may find 
around us. But the difficulty is that we become so accustomed 
to these things that we cease to notice them. The habitual 
does not attract our attention. On this account it is the, 



Summer Play 221 

custom in the best Japanese homes to hang a single picture 
in a room, and at the end of a week to take this away and 
hang another in its place. One great advantage of travel 
is that we expect something different ; we drop our old points 
of view, with their worries and tensions, when we go to a new 
place. We see everything from a different angle, and find in 
the new scene something of romance and glamour which we 
failed to see in our home environment. It is this new point 
of view which is the most important contribution of travel. 

Any one about to take a trip should always find time to 
dream about it, to go over in imagination some of the expe- 
riences which are expected. Anticipation is a real form of 
recreation, and it has few of the disadvantages or hardships 
involved in actual experience. Besides this, it allows us to 
realize what experiences we desire, and we then know what 
to plan for. It puts us in the proper attitude to meet situa- 
tions as they arise, and is a genuine preparation for them. 

Professional travelers are accustomed to plan their journeys 
in great detail, spending months, very likely, in reading 
up guidebooks and other works which describe the things 
they wish to see. For educational purposes such preparation 
is very desirable. But from the emotional point of view, at 
least, there is also a certain advantage in making no prep- 
aration and letting everything seen come as more or less of 
a surprise. They tell me that in the South it is quite custo- 
mary for a negro to come to the railroad ticket office, lay 
down a sum of money, and say he wants a return ticket. If 
the agent asks him where he wishes to go, he says he wants 
to go as far as that will take him and back again. He has no 
idea of a destination; he is merely going into the unknown 
for experience, and back. We all love to explore and to find 



222 Recreation for Teachers 

out new things. There is a place both for the journey which 
is fully prepared for and which brings no real surprise, and 
the one which is a sort of adventure, in which we simply go 
forth without a compass to see what will happen. 

Travel should mean, also, a new democracy ; it should 
enable the teacher to slough off a little of her primness, her 
prudishness, her aloofness, and get down to the facts of life 
and to real acquaintanceship with people. If the teacher is 
to train for democracy, she herself must be a democrat. She 
usually suffers from an excess of dignity, and it is well if 
she can get rid of a little of it in the summer time and meet 
men and women naturally, even without the formality of an 
introduction. 

Nearly every one who has ever traveled much on the water 
has found that one of the most delightful features of the voyage 
is the democracy which soon develops among the passengers. 
The same is true of those who have gone to our great national 
playgrounds, like Yosemite and Yellowstone. People seem 
to require no introduction ; they become acquainted almost at 
once. When one lives in a company which is accustomed to 
introduce all of its acquaintances to one another, an introduc- 
tion is no guarantee of the character or quality of the person 
introduced. On the other hand, the lack of an introduction 
does not necessarily lead to any indiscretion or any improper 
conduct or language on the part of any one. It makes one 
feel almost as though the millennium had come to find himself 
in a company where he can be completely simple and natural, 
each treating the other merely as another human being, in 
the way we must feel that Jesus intended every man and 
woman to treat every other. 

The teacher has always been criticized as a theorist. She 



Summer Play 223 

has often lived in a sort of cloister, not mingling freely with 
people or having much vital experience. Summer is the ideal 
time to gain experience, and travel offers many opportunities. 
We have expected the teacher to prepare children for life 
without knowing much about it. More and more we are 
asking her to guide her pupils in their choice of vocation. 
For this she must know a great deal about different trades 
and occupations. Travel at its best, which is usually not 
along conventional lines, furnishes opportunities to gain this 
knowledge. 

ON FOOT 

Walking is the ideal method of educational and recreational 
travel. It combines exercise in the open air with intimate 
companionship and democratic meeting of people under the 
varying conditions of life, and gives such opportunity for 
observation and study as no other form permits. 

It would scarcely be possible to devise anything more 
stimulating or helpful for teachers than one of the summer 
trips taken by the Appalachian Mountain Club of the East, 
the Colorado Mountain Club, the Sierra Club of California, 
or the Mazama Club of Portland. These are walks of 
fifteen to thirty-five days, and the entire expense usually does 
not much exceed two dollars per day. The average daily 
distance covered is not more than ten miles, so that there is 
opportunity for sight-seeing, visiting, fishing, bird and other 
nature study, including the collection of flowers. Beside the 
camp fire at night there is often a lecture by some one skilled 
in the secrets of the locality, with story-telling and songs. 
Every person who is young enough and vigorous enough to 
teach ought to enjoy a trip of this sort. 



224 Recreation for Teachers 






It is not essential to belong to a mountain club. Walks 
may be taken on the plains, also, though they are generally 
less interesting. Stevenson, who was a great walker, rec- 
ommends that the walker should go alone. There are 
advantages in this for men, but it is not often feasible for 
women. The difficulty in walking alone is not the lack of 
company, but the possibility of undesirable company. 

The writer once took a walk of about two hundred miles 
through the Adirondacks. Starting at Lake Placid, the route 
lay across the mountains to Lake Champlain, around Ticon- 
deroga, down Lake George to its end, and on to Saratoga and 
Bennington. He took a little over two weeks for the trip, 
averaging from ten to fifteen miles a day. It was necessary 
for him to stay at the regular resort hotels, and the expense 
was about #2.50 per day. He traveled alone, sending his 
baggage forward by the bus. During these two weeks he 
gained fifteen pounds in weight and came out with an energy 
and joy in living such as he has seldom felt. Merely as a 
means of developing health and energy, it was worth all that 
it cost. But, in addition, he learned as much as he has 
ever learned in the same length of time. In fact while the 
events of this trip still stand out vividly in memory, there is 
almost nothing in his school life which is similarly vivid. 

The following points of interest in the trip may be men- 
tioned : the grave of John Brown at Lake Placid ; the 
devastation of the mountains by fire ; the collection of spruce 
gum as a business ; hunting and trapping in the mountains ; 
the birds and flowers along the way ; boys' camps and their 
activities; the extent of the remains of Fort Ticonderoga 
and its evident significance in early history; the Indian 
portage from Lake Champlain to Lake George; the paper 



Summer Play 225 

mills at the head of Lake George ; the beauty of this lake with 
its islands and crystal water ; the summer camp of the Y. M. 
C. A. at Silver Bay ; the fine houses at the lower end of the 
lake ; the remains of Fort William Henry ; the Indian portage 
to the upper waters of the Hudson ; the battle fields of Saratoga 
and Bennington. After the close of this walk, the writer 
read with intense interest several volumes of Parkman's 
History of the early explorers and of the French and Indian 
Wars. 

Some one is sure to say at this point, "Yes, but these 
things could be seen only on the trip outlined ; in the section 
of the country in which I live there is nothing but prairie 
grass and cornfields." It is true that some sections of the 
country have a greater variety of scenery and industries and 
more literary and historic associations than others. But the 
writer has never yet found a place which did not prove full of 
interest, whenever he had time to study it a little. The 
reason that many localities seem uninteresting is merely that 
no one has ever sought to find and list their attractions. 

If women teachers are to take walking trips, they must 
realize that they are not going on dress parade. They should 
wear short skirts, a comfortable waist without a corset, 
broad shoes with low heels, and, as a rule, a short khaki or 
denim suit with trousers or bloomers of the same color. No 
person can enjoy walking in uncomfortable shoes. Most 
mountain clubs recommend high, heavy shoes with hobnails 
for mountain climbing, and they are doubtless best for a long 
trip; but, if one wishes to travel light and has only one 
or two mountains to climb, probably tennis shoes are most 
satisfactory, provided one has not very weak ankles or 
arches. 

Q 



226 Recreation for Teachers 






Teachers are nearly always conservative in matters of 
dress, as in other things, and the possibility of a change in the 
feminine attire for walking trips may still seem extreme to 
many. In California two years ago, I saw a very few women 
who were wearing trousers for mountain hikes, automobile 
trips, and similar expeditions. But in the Yosemite during 
the summer of 191 7, I found that nearly half of the women 
who were walking or automobiling were in trousers. In 
many cases these were riding breeches ; in others they seemed 
to be exactly the same as the men's garments. In some cases 
they had evidently been made to order by good tailors. 
Many of the women wore an ordinary woman's waist and hat, 
but not a few wore an army or some other kind of man's shirt, 
with a cap or soft hat. The most popular, and it seemed to 
me the most tasteful, suits were of light khaki and resembled 
very closely a soldier's uniform. 

The women all seemed pleased with the change, and the 
young women who were in conventional attire said they would 
wear trousers when they came again. The men made no 
comment, and in general the costume attracted no attention. 
Trousers fit the woman's figure no less than the man's, and 
there is no suggestion of sex about them. There is also the 
advantage of appearing in a new light. The women pages in 
the various plays of high life always look attractive. There 
are some mountain clubs that require all women who go 
on their trips to wear trousers. The skirt has been dropped 
from the bathing suit in the last five years, women who 
are doing men's work on account of the war are largely 
wearing the male attire, and this is now feasible, even 
for women teachers, when they are camping or mountain 
climbing. 



Summer Play 227 

It has become quite customary now to see women in gym- 
nasiums and on play fields in bloomers, but these can never be 
as modest as trousers, because they always suggest an under- 
garment. They are also awkward, and in the mountains or 
forests likely to be caught upon brush or stones and torn. 

In every contest of great importance, where it is necessary 
that effort should produce the maximum effect, the tendency is 
always to reduce the clothing to a minimum and have it fit 
the figure. The Olympic Games were carried on without 
clothing, and our wrestlers, prize fighters, swimmers, and 
runners all tend to reduce clothing to an almost negligible 
quantity. 

Woman's clothing has always been more of a handicap to 
her physical activity than she has realized. The skirt, with 
light underwear, can never be modest for climbing or for any 
place where one is likely to fall down. There is no suggestion 
of immodesty in trousers. 

Girls have seldom had a fair chance physically. They have 
been better dressed than their brothers, and required to keep 
cleaner, from earliest years. Their clothing has never been 
suitable for vigorous exercise or play, and the traditions of the 
community have been against their taking part in vigorous 
outdoor activities. When the girl gets to be thirteen or 
fourteen and puts on her long skirt, especially if it happens to 
be a hobble skirt and if her shoes have high heels, she might 
about as well be put into a museum. The girl reaches the 
age of fourteen with nearly the same body weight as the boy, 
but with only three quarters of the lung capacity, while the 
tests all show that her blood is poorer than the boy's. All of 
these things should be reversed. Physical training is almost 
infinitely more important for girls and women to-day than it is 



228 Recreation for Teachers 

for men. The girls are coming through our high schools 
everywhere with better standing than the boys; yet, when 
they must become bread-winners, they seldom receive as good 
wages as the boys do, largely because they have not the nervous 
stability or the physical strength to stand the strain of the 
occupations into which they go. Motherhood is becoming 
more difficult and more feared, and women are less and less 
able to nurse their children. We know to-day that it is almost 
absolutely necessary to the welfare of the child that it should 
be nursed and that the mother should be healthy. It is 
much more important that the child should have a vigorous 
mother than a vigorous father. 

All the problems connected with summer travel for women 
would be greatly simplified if there were a national organization 
like the Wander vogel. Such an organization might promote 
a teachers' clubhouse, and hospitality at teacherages and 
similar places. If the members wore a standard uniform, 
they could be recognized and assisted whenever it was neces- 
sary. If the organization became powerful, this uniform 
would in itself be a protection, as the association might 
prosecute any one who was discourteous to its members. 
The most distinctive feature in the uniform of the Wander- 
vogel is a soft green hat with a feather. The hat alone might 
serve as a distinguishing mark, but it would be a good thing 
to have a uniform. This might well be green or khaki-color, 
and of about the same material as a soldier's suit. It should 
have trousers of the same color as the skirt, and be so made 
that the skirt could be dropped whenever it was desirable 
to dispense with it. 

The most difficult problem in connection with any long 
walking trip is the night lodging. There are places in the 



Summer Play 229 

southwestern part of this country where it is possible for a 
traveler to sleep out under a tree, with a small fire perhaps, 
perfectly sure that no rain will come to disturb his slumbers, 
and that he will be warm enough. But this applies only to 
a small section; usually it is necessary for the traveler to 
have at least a blanket in order to be comfortable. 

To many, doubtless, it may not seem proper for young 
women to spend the night in this way, but at Long's Peak Inn 
in the Rocky Mountain National Park, there is a slender 
young woman who serves as guide to tourists who wish to study 
the locality and learn to know its birds and flowers. She 
tells me she often spends the night with one or two women on 
the mountain top, with nothing but a fire and a blanket, and 
on several occasions she has done so alone. She has never 
been molested and has never felt timid about it. 

Most mountain clubs use sleeping bags. These are water- 
proof and generally are lined, so that the sleeper is protected 
from the rain and the moisture of the ground, and is sure of 
a certain amount of warmth. There is usually some arrange- 
ment for transporting these bags, either by donkey or by 
wagon. 

Miss Lulie Nettleton of "The Mountaineers " makes the 
following recommendation in regard to camping out for 
women : 

"A canvas dunnage bag, fifteen inches in diameter and thirty inches 
in length, must enclose all of one's available belongings, including sleep- 
ing accommodations, necessities, and luxuries. 

"To sleep well is most essential. You must be warm and your bed 
must be light and as nearly waterproof as you can make it. The most 
satisfactory bedding is a wool or eiderdown sleeping bag with a light 
waterproof covering. In the absence of this, two heavy double wool 
blankets with a light waterproof covering will serve the purpose, or a 



230 Recreation for Teachers 

heavy quilted wool comforter fastened on the sides and bottom and used 
also with a light waterproof covering. As to coverings, tanalite has 
proved excellent." 

However, if there are a considerable number in the party, 
it is not expensive to have tents and provisions transported 
by wagon or motor truck, so that everything may be in 
readiness by the time the company arrives, If a tent is 
preferred, one large enough for two people can be purchased 
from the mail order houses, or from the tent and awning 
companies, for almost any price from four dollars up. 

For a party of two, it is often possible to obtain accommo- 
dations with the farmers along the way. If one is in a hospi- 
table American section, there can be no better way of spending 
the night, because it gives one a better knowledge of the 
country and its life. In many sections one can be sure of 
hospitality at any house, without money and without price. 

In the walking trips which are taken by German children, 
the night is often spent in the haymows of the barns, and for 
two or three men on a walking trip, no more comfortable 
bed could be desired. Moreover, a number of children's 
hotels have been built on the edges of German cities, during 
recent years, for the purpose of entertaining those who are on 
walking trips of this kind. The various Alpine clubs also 
have built halfway and other houses along the roads leading 
up to many of the principal peaks throughout Europe. A 
similar series of night shelters has been built by Dartmouth 
College on the way to the White Mountains. 

In the announcement of the N. E. A. for 191 7, there is the 
following statement: "In the Larch Mountains and in 
other well known places along the Columbia River, the 
United States Forest Service has prepared sleeping sheds 



Summer Play 231 

and firewood for free use of campers." Doubtless this 
policy is being pursued in many places by the Forest Service 
where there is demand for shelters overnight. 

Perhaps, however, the simplest of all methods for care- 
free vagabonds, who would avoid many of the hardships of 
the way, is to travel with a pack pony or donkey. This is a 
method which Western prospectors everywhere employed 
in the early days, and it is still common. It simplifies the 
transportation of food and tent. The pack pony can be 
taken almost anywhere, and in emergencies it may be 
ridden. 

During the Middle Ages it was the custom of students to 
wander about during their summer vacations paying their 
way by entertaining their host. Just after the writer had 
graduated from Yale, he spent about a month with another 
Yale man, camping in the Catskills. Among our other 
adventures, we decided to try the custom of the medieval 
students. So we stored our belongings and our money and 
started on a tour of the mountains without a single penny in 
our pockets. Unfortunately there were a good many people 
in the Catskills who had not heard of this custom of the 
medieval students and who did not welcome the idea with 
much enthusiasm. We accumulated experience rapidly for 
a couple of days, but decided by that time that we had had 
enough. There are, however, many sections of America 
where this would have worked well, and it is not inherently 
objectionable. If a person from one walk of life can enter a 
home in a different walk and really show something of what 
his own life is, his visit ought to be of at least as great value 
to each member of the family as though he had delivered a 
lecture for which they would gladly pay him. 



232 Recreation for Teachers 

Probably no other form of traveling was ever so interesting 
or romantic as the pilgrimages that were made to the Holy- 
Land during the Middle Ages. The world had not yet 
become cosmopolitan ; the sights of other lands had not been 
made commonplace through illustrated magazines or books, or 
through moving pictures. The customs and ways of the 
people were strange, as was the appearance of the cities. The 
way was beset with adventure ; and yet throughout Christian 
countries the pilgrim was reverenced as a holy man and 
entertained, if of good blood, at the castles of the nobles and 
even at the palace of the king. Especially on his return 
journey, when he could give accounts of the strange sights he 
had seen and the adventures in which he had participated, he 
was everywhere a welcome guest, honored by the church, loved 
by the ladies, and entertained by knights and nobles . In these 
pilgrimages there was so much of adventure, so much of 
novel sight-seeing, and of romance, often so much of business, 
that one must often question which of these motives lent the 
major purpose to the pilgrimage. 

Around the places where pilgrims assembled there grew up 
fairs and market-places of various kinds. Indeed this was 
true, as we know, even of the Temple in Jerusalem at the 
time of the Passover, when the religious came from all parts 
of the Holy Land to render their offerings. Practically the 
same conditions still obtain in the Mohammedan world where 
pilgrims make their annual journey to Mecca. The same is 
true in many Catholic countries where special shrines contain 
the relics of some saint or martyr. 

The person who is walking should aim to keep his baggage 
near the minimum ; this perhaps may be set at a jackknif e and 
a box of matches. A drinking cup or canteen, and a field glass 



Summer Play 233 

and camera are often desirable. There is nothing that 
cheers the wayside more than a fire, and in the evening it is 
half the attraction of the camp. Field glasses make it 
possible to study birds in an intimate way, and in certain 
localities afford views from mountains and hilltops which 
are well worth the inconvenience they cost. The best way 
to keep a record of outings is through the kodak. The pictorial 
diary is the only kind of daily journal that we are apt to read. 

BY BICYCLE 

A few years ago many people were taking long trips on the 
bicycle. It is to be regretted that this custom is going out so 
completely. The bicycle is the cheapest way of getting over 
the ground, and it permits one to go far in a brief time. 
The pleasure of bicycling is somewhat lessened now by the 
automobiles that throng the highways, but it may be still a 
very profitable method of travel. 

One summer, while teaching in New York City, the writer 
took a three-day bicycle trip along the line of Washington's 
campaign of '78 and '79, going first to the battle field of Mon- 
mouth ; thence to the old headquarters at Morristown, and 
the revolutionary relics and memorials around Princeton, with 
a view of the University and the graves of Aaron Burr and 
Jonathan Edwards ; on to Trenton with its museum ; down 
to Philadelphia ; on along the line of retreat to Valley Forge, 
with a careful study of the camp ground ; across to the field 
of Brandywine, and on to Wilmington, Delaware, taking 
the boat back to Philadelphia, and the train from Philadelphia 
to New York. The trip of three days did not cost over six 
dollars. There are few other periods three days in length 
which stand out more vividly or which have yielded more of 



234 Recreation for Teachers 

significance. A number of friends of the writer have taken 
trips from New York into the White Mountains on bicycles, 
returning by the way of Boston, Providence, and the Fall 
River Line. 

BY THE MOTORCYCLE 

The motorcycle is the cheapest of all methods of travel, 
as a rider is able to cover, along good roads, from one hundred 
to one hundred twenty-five miles on a gallon of gasoline, 
and to go nearly as fast as a train. It has, however, several 
disadvantages. It is rather dangerous, it is a very dirty and 
dusty, a very noisy and smelly, way of traveling, and the 
rider usually has to watch his machine so closely that he cannot 
observe the scenery very closely. Nevertheless, when people 
come to realize that it costs only about one fifth as much to 
travel on good roads by motorcycle as by railroad, a still 
larger use of this machine may be expected. 

BY CANOE OR MOTOR-BOAT 

It is scarcely possible to spend two weeks in a more de- 
lightful way than canoeing along a wooded stream. It is 
excellent exercise, and gives an opportunity for hunting, 
fishing, and an outdoor life in general. 

A friend of the writer has been accustomed for several 
years to spend his vacation on a canoe trip. He usually 
ships his boat to the St. Marys River in Michigan, and has 
gone from there along the northern shore of Lake Superior 
until he came to some Canadian river. After he and his 
companion, paddling upstream, come to some site which 
appeals to them, they spend two or three weeks in hunting 
and fishing, returning as they came. 



Summer Play 235 

Another friend, who was at that time principal of a high 
school in Minneapolis, once shipped a flat-bottomed boat to 
Lake Itaska, whence he and his two sons of eight and ten 
floated down to Minneapolis, taking two weeks for the trip. 
He says it was the best vacation he ever had. They rigged 
their boat with uprights and crosspiece at the prow and stern 
and ran over this a strip of canvas so that they were pro- 
tected from the sun. They drifted down with the current, 
keeping a trolling line out behind. They thus caught, without 
effort, more fish than they could eat, and had to pull their 
lines in after a little. They camped out at night on the banks, 
buying milk and eggs and potatoes from the farmers of the 
neighborhood. At times they had to protect themselves 
from mosquitoes by wearing heavy gloves and hanging mos- 
quito netting around their hats, but otherwise they were 
not annoyed in any way. The father spent much of the 
time reading, and found the boat perfectly satisfactory for 
this. 

Where there is a long river running through wooded sections, 
the motor-boat furnishes an attractive form of recreation. 
The travel can always be varied by camping out and fishing, 
generally by hunting, swimming, and endless picnics. If the 
company is congenial, nothing could be more entertaining. 
The expense should be slight, as it is not necessary to pay for 
transportation of baggage or tents or other supplies. 

BY STEAMSHIP 

As soon as one is out of sight of land, he seems to forget 
all his cares. There is nothing to do. The company is usually 
friendly, and the salt air gives one an enormous appetite. 
The acquaintanceships of the steamer often develop into 



236 Recreation for Teachers 

intimacies. There are few more wholly restful and wholesome 
experiences. 

BY TRAIN 

The chief advantages of the railroad are speed and the 
ability to travel at night. It has few social advantages, it is 
more expensive than most methods of travel, and railroad 
maps and time-tables seem to be designed to give as little 
information as possible. On most maps it is difficult even to 
tell in what state you are, and there is no attempt to indicate 
the places of interest. If the government should take over 
the railroads permanently, and the Department of Education 
were asked to make the maps and put up signs along the 
way where there are points of interest, railroad travel might 
be made instructive. 

Travel by rail usually costs about two and a half cents a 
mile, and few teachers can afford to take many long trips at 
this price. It would be the part of wisdom for the railroads 
to make a lower rate to them. Most railroads offer a half- 
fare ticket to clergymen, but clergymen are on an average 
better paid than teachers. The teacher may lay claim to a 
low fare as a public servant who is poorly compensated. 

Teachers who have traveled love to tell of what they have 
seen. This throws a glamour around them in the eyes of 
the children. Very likely every mile the teacher travels leads 
sooner or later to ten or twenty miles of travel by her pupils. 
It would be good policy for the railroads to make so low a rate 
to teachers that they could not afford to stay at home. This 
is one of the things which the National Education Associa- 
tion might well take up and push to a successful conclusion, 
for the railroads could probably be made to see that it is good 
business for them to issue a special teacher's ticket. 






Summer Play 237 

There are many people who find travel wearisome and who 
wish to rest after having been for a day on the train. They 
might with advantage pay the extra charge for a parlor car. 
It is easier to read in a Pullman, and there is less danger in 
case of accident. 

BY AUTOMOBILE 

Really the most feasible way to travel during the summer, 
in most sections of the country, is by automobile. There is a 
common impression that this is one of the most expensive 
methods of getting from one place to another, but this is not 
necessarily so. An automobile in good condition on a good 
road will make about twenty miles on a gallon of gasoline, 
which will mean a cost of about one cent a mile. If the 
automobile is carrying five people, this will mean one fifth 
of a cent each. The upkeep of the car, new tires, etc., will 
cost about one cent, and a third additional cent, on the best 
roads, should cover the other expenses of lubricating oil, 
repairs, etc., if one of the party drives. This will make a total 
expense of three cents per mile, or three fifths of a cent per 
person. An estimate of one cent per mile for each should be 
safe. There are autobus routes in southern California where 
the regular charge is only a cent a mile. 

On a reasonably good road it is possible for a party to make 
one hundred miles a day, and still have time to stop at places 
of interest, to go through factories, to admire beautiful views, 
and to study the country and its productions. 

Suppose a group of teachers in the Middle West decide to 
spend their summer in a trip to California. They might 
secure an automobile arranged to carry a trunk behind or 
on the roof. If the trip is two thousand miles each way, and 



238 Recreation for Teachers 

they cover an additional two thousand miles seeing the sights, 
this would mean a total of six thousand miles. The auto- 
mobile expense, at the highest rate we have figured, would be 
#300, or #60 per person. If we suppose eighty days were 
spent on the journey, and that other expenses averaged #2.00 
a day, this would make #160 per person, totaling #220 or say 
#250, for the trip. This is probably no more than they would 
spend if they went to a near-by resort. Yet they would see 
the great plains and their products, the mountains with their 
birds and flowers and rocks, the seashore and its resorts, and 
the wonders of California and the productions of a semi- 
tropical climate. 

The expenses which have been estimated at #2.00 per day 
are hotel bills, and they can be made as high as the party 
desires, or they may be brought down to about #1.50 a day, 
especially if the nights are spent at small places and picnic 
lunches are prepared by the wayside. The besetting sin of 
automobilists is speed, and the party should often stop for a 
day or two to make side trips and drink in the scenery. 

A company of five men could make such a trip somewhat 
more cheaply. For about ten dollars the front seat can be 
made to turn back into a bed, and if a mattress is carried, two 
may sleep in the automobile. If a tarpaulin is put over the 
machine and an extra mattress or a sleeping bag or two are 
carried, two or three people may sleep thus at the side. 1 If 
they can buy their provisions from the farmers or the local 
grocers, and can make their own repairs, they may bring their 
entire expenses down to about a dollar and a half per day. 

1 Montgomery Ward and Company also have on sale a special tourist 
blanket which can be converted into a sleeping bag by lacing up the sides 
and one end. 



Summer Play 239 

A great obstacle to the pleasure of such a trip is that one 
needs a separate license for hunting and fishing in nearly every 
state. There should be some national license which would 
allow a person to hunt and fish along the way. 

Along almost any main-traveled highway in the country at 
present, one will come upon automobile parties touring the 
country in just this way, often carrying a tent and all necessary 
equipment, and expecting to be on the road three or four 
months. 

Where a man and his wife or one or two teachers own an 
automobile, and wish to take a trip of this kind, it is often 
possible for them to take in passengers who will help pay the 
expenses. Trips of this kind are advertised in Los Angeles 
practically every day. The difficulty in this situation, so 
far as rural teachers are concerned, is that they see so little 
of each other that almost any cooperative undertaking is 
difficult. If the teacher wishes to go camping or walking or 
automobiling, it may be necessary for her to organize the 
party in the neighborhood rather than among the teachers. 

Recently, while on a walking trip in Iowa, the writer was 
picked up by three young men in a Ford, who were touring 
the country. They had some little mechanical skill and were 
paying their way by stopping at the farms and doing any 
machine repairing that might be called for. Their plan was 
to go to New York, down along the coast to Florida, across 
through the southern states and Texas to southern California, 
then up and across again to Iowa. 

All the sights of the country are being made more and more 
accessible to the automobilist every year. There is a good 
road to the top of Pikes Peak, one is being made to the top 
of Mt. Whitney, and the roads in our great national parks 



240 Recreation for Teachers 

like Yellowstone and Yosemite are being improved every 
year. 

In the Yosemite, in the summer of 191 7, there were twenty- 
two different automobile camps, provided for and laid out by 
the National Park service. Autoists were charged five 
dollars admission to the park. The Desmond Automobile 
Company would rent to campers everything that they needed, 
including tent, beds and blankets, stove, table, knives and 
forks, dishes, etc. They might pick up branches lying on the 
ground, or buy cut wood directly from the Park authorities. 
For a party of five the expense of securing all this equipment 
for a month need not be more than fifteen dollars. Most of 
the camps were in beautiful locations looking out upon the 
river or up to mountains or waterfalls. Some of them were 
more attractive than the sites occupied by the hotels or 
permanent camps. 

We have spoken of automobiling as a method of travel, but 
we may also consider it a form of sport. There is a decided 
pleasure in the sense of mastery which one has in guiding a 
powerful machine. The feeling of exhilaration from the 
rapid motion is a balm to tired nerves. In any long trip, 
all the members of the party should learn to drive, that no one 
may get too much of it and all may have an opportunity to 
see the sights. There ought to be at least one in the company 
who is able to make minor repairs, unless the trip is to be very 
short. Courses in automobile repairing are now being offered 
at many universities and in some normal and high schools. 
Two women professors, acquaintances of mine, before going 
on a trip of this kind, took employment for a month in one of 
the city garages. They dressed like men and did the regular 
repair work. 



Summer Play 241 

At the end of the 191 7 summer session of the University of 
Colorado, a group of four young women, two members of the 
faculty and two high school teachers, set out for an automobile 
trip through Yellowstone Park. The following account is 
from the diary of the owner of the Ford in which the trip 
was taken. 

Monday, August 6th. 

Detained until 12 : 00 M. by engine trouble ; made Cheyenne 
by night. Town filled with soldiers, and as the girls feared the 
men might run off with our ukulele or bedding, we ate supper 
in relays. Spent night camping by lake on parade grounds of 
Fort Russell. Two of us slept in the bed in car made by letting 
down back of front seat; two slept in sleeping bags on the 
ground. 

Tuesday, August jih. 

Started before breakfast on Yellowstone trail. On making 
run for hill, spilled off bread box which I had tied on ; so we 
contented ourselves without bread. Stopped at Laramie 
River and ate grand camp dinner under shade of cottonwoods. 
Went swimming or mud-crawling in the river. Left about 
5 : 00 p.m. Wound through sand around river road, and at 
night reached the small town of Glendo. The road on was 
labeled " dangerous" by guide book, and not libeled; it was 
the worst road I ever saw, or rather, didn't see, for Henry's 
lights gave out and our flash was small. Miss B. is a grand 
sport. She sat in front and didn't even yell when I missed 
the road and started down an embankment into the river, just 
eleven miles from Douglas. By pushing and reversing, we got 
out and made Douglas by 11 : 00 p.m., rode around city, and 



242 Recreation for Teachers 

camped in vacant field near creek about five miles out of 

Douglas. 

Wednesday, August 8th. 

Roads pretty good to Casper. Took wrong road and ran 
into mud at river ; took cross-cut and got stuck in sand, but 
girls pushed me out. Met many pack trains of mules, and in 
giving them the road went hub deep in sand. Oil field 
interesting; derricks and little white puffs of smoke every- 
where. In afternoon got stuck on sandy hill. After abandon- 
ing our skirts and pushing until tired, we waited until another 
Ford came along and was stuck. We helped them out and 
they helped us. They followed us to Powder River and bade 
us good-by there, as they were afraid to travel at night, and 
we liked it better than daytime. As the night was cold, we 
unrolled our bedding, wrapping it around us, and rode late 
into the night until we were stuck in the sand. Spent night 
in HelPs Half Acre. Not half bad, as sand is very soft for 
a bed. 

Thursday, August gth. 

Made Lost Cabin by noon, and started to Ten Sleep, avoid- 
ing Thermopolis because of bad roads. Camper, as we had 
named our car, jumped the track here and almost spilled me 
down a mountain side. The girls were walking the grade, as 
the engine was not working well. Took only five gallons of 
gas at little station, as it was forty cents per gallon, and after 
a good dinner started across Bad Lands on a forty-five mile 
drive to Ten Sleep. On making mountain, the car was so 
tipped that the gas couldn't run into the carburetor. I was 
afraid to back down, as our brakes were poor. While we were 



Summer Play 243 

talking, an old bull, dripping at the mouth, came bellowing 
up the mountain. The little girl from Texas was frightened, 
and while we stood laughing and holding the car, she began to 
shovel dirt under the car wheels, as there were no rocks around. 
Her fright scared us, and we jumped into the car, put up the 
curtains, grabbed axe, shovel, and butcher knife, and steering- 
wheel, and waited for the onslaught of the bull. He came up 
near the car, stopped, bellowed at us, turned as though to 
butt us down the mountain, changed his mind, and went 
away bellowing. That was the first time I ever wanted a gun. 
Rode late that night, until car got so hot it wouldn't run. 
As we were on the side of a steep mountain, and wind and 
sleet were blowing strongly, we sat up all night. Off in the 
distance coyotes and wolves began to howl. Nearer and 
nearer they came. My companions were frightened for the 
first and last time on the trip. 

Friday, August 10th. 

Next morning we coasted thirteen miles into Ten Sleep, and 
found that our radiator hose had broken and radiator leaked. 
The road to Hyattville was terrible; made twenty miles in 
three hours. Here we met a tourist from the Park who tried 
to discourage us from going farther; but we were having a 
grand time and enjoying our troubles immensely. Arrived 
at Basin in the evening, and slept about eleven miles out in 
spite of rain and wind. 

Saturday, August nth. 

In Cody at noon. Shoshone Pass, a narrow road but good, 
not nearly as bad as we had been told. Spent the night in 
park in the pines. Creek on both sides and all around 



244 Recreation for Teachers 

mountains. Climbed tree to put our food in cage to keep bears 
away. 

Sunday, August 12th. 

Went swimming ; did washing. At 4 : 00 p.m. made steepest 
climb in park, where we had view of entire park and Yellow- 
stone Lake. Coasted down hill and climbed up until we 
reached Lake Jet ; then went to Artist Point, where we spent 
the night with Old Bruin, who didn't bother us much. 
Danced Peter Pan around the camp fire and sang college 
songs. 

Monday, August 13th. 

Reached Mammoth Hot Spring, where there is a large 
garrison of soldiers. The guests of the hotel crowded around 
us wherever we stopped. I never felt so much like a box of 
monkeys in my life. They asked us all sorts of questions, and 
seemed to think it marvelous that a party of girls could go 
out alone in a Ford. We were adopted and watched out for by 
everyone on the road. Went around the Park twice and took 
all the side trips. At one time the girls made a bridge for me 
out of poles and held it for me until I drove across. One 
time in a heavy rain storm, I ran one wheel into a geyser 
and sank into nowhere. By help of a shovel, pick, and two 
dandy girls, we got out. 

We went through Idaho and Utah and back to Colorado 
across Tennessee Pass home. Everywhere we met the kindest 
treatment both on the road and in the towns. We had a 
grand time and no trouble was so serious that we couldn't get 
a good laugh out of it. 

Miss B. wore a man's suit ; Miss G. wore a flannel shirt and 
riding trousers; Miss H. wore bloomers and middies; and 



Summer Play 245 

I wore a man's unionall suit. Miss H.'s bloomers were not 
successful, as fleas in the Park bit her legs. Miss G.'s outfit 
was the best, as it was better looking at the end of the trip 
than the rest of our clothes. 

We had only one accident — broke the rear axle. Did not 
wear out one set of tires. Paid as high as fifty cents a loaf 
for bread. 

We stopped in Ash ton, and with help of garage men took 
our engine apart and ground the valves and fitted in new piston 
rings. Made Tennessee Pass on high, which is unusual. 

Expenses 

Food #49-3° 

Gas 38.79 

Oil 4-65 

Repairs 14-45 

Incidentals 71.90 

#179.09 

Personal expenses 23.88 

Total #202.97 

Let me enumerate a few things that come under the heading 
of incidentals : brake shoe, $.40 ; driver to bring car in, $2.00 ; 
grease, $.75; coal oil, $.15 ; Zip, $1.00; ball bearings, $.60; 
map, $.25; soap, $.15; piston rings, $.75; fee into Park, 
$7.50; rooms at Y. M. C. A., $2.00; movies, $.80; No-Leak, 
$.75; commutator, $.80; swims, $4.00; lights and glass, 
$1.30; bushings and spindles, $1.10; hubcap, $.50; battery 
and bulb, $1.05; screw driver, $.55; spark plug and porce- 
lains, $3.05; water bag, $1.85; cloth, $.15; knives sharpened, 
$.25; cup grease, $.75 ; glue, $.15; tire, $22.90. 

We were gone five weeks in all, due to slow travel because 
of poor roads in Wyoming and Idaho. 



246 Recreation for Teachers 

It will thus be seen that this rather extended tour, covering 
something over two thousand miles by automobile, and 
requiring five weeks of time, cost these young ladies a trifle 
over ten dollars a week apiece. If there had been five people 
in the car instead of four, the cost probably would not have 
been over nine dollars a week ; but, even at ten dollars, it was 
probably little if any more than they were paying for board 
and room in the city. It will be noted that the entire expense 
for the company, so far as given, amounts to almost exactly 
ten cents per mile for all expenses, including board and lodging. 
However, in this case, the automobile charges did not cover 
depreciation of the car or the replacing of tires, and is in- 
sufficient for a complete charge. Nevertheless it was consid- 
erably cheaper for the owner to take the other three girls 
with her than it would have been to go alone, as the in- 
crease of cost in having three additional passengers in a 
car is negligible. It is probable that there is no other section 
of the United States where the expenses would have been 
greater, as they had at times to pay fifty cents for a loaf of 
bread, and gasoline was uniformly high. 

To many, perhaps to most teachers this trip may seem extra 
hazardous. Doubtless the travelers encountered as bad roads 
and as many dangers as might be found in almost any auto- 
mobile trip in the country. They increased these hazards by 
traveling much at night. Most of these dangers might have 
been avoided, if they had chosen to do so ; but, 

"If a path were dangerous known, 
Then danger's self were lure alone." 



CHAPTER XV 
RECREATION AT SUMMER SCHOOLS 

The summer school offers the key to most of the recreation 
problems which have been broached in this volume. The 
students come from all parts of the country. If they develop 
an enthusiasm for outdoor sports and play, this will go far 
in solving the problem of the year. The time from four to 
eight every day, and the whole of Saturday afternoons and 
Sundays, should be devoted to leisure, and the students 
should be earnestly advised not to study then. This time 
is sufficient for games and sports, for gardening, excursions, 
moving pictures, community singing, story- telling, Boy 
Scouts, Girl Scouts and Camp Fire Girls, and the other new 
activities which are coming into the schools. Properly con- 
ducted these will be excellent recreation, will preserve the 
teacher's health and vigor, and nearly double the value of 
the summer training. 

The summer school is almost a new educational discovery. 
Teachers cannot afford to spend two or three months in 
loafing, nor can they afford as a regular thing to spend so 
long a period at a resort or in travel. The summer school 
must give them a good time as well as training for their work. 
The numbers in attendance are probably twice what they were 
a decade ago, and may even be three times as great. In the 
majority of the normal schools the summer enrollment is 
the largest of the year. The summer is also the most effective 
term. The students have experienced difficulties and realize 

247 



248 Recreation for Teachers 

their needs. They are eager in their studies and ready to 
assimilate what they receive. 

There is every probability of the summer term's increasing 
in length also. The state schools of Colorado and some in Cali- 
fornia are now being put on a ten or twelve weeks' basis, and 
the normal schools of Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas already 
have such a term. This is likely to become general. In 
most cases these summer sessions are divided into two parts 
so that students need take only one if that is preferred. When 
the summer term is long, provision for recreation is especially 
necessary, both for the faculty and the students, that the 
strain may be relieved as much as possible. It is also profit- 
able, in that it may tempt students who come for the first 
half to stay over for the second. 

The Problem of Summer Quarters 

It is to be regretted that some of the southern schools 
should hold a summer session. In many localities the weather 
is so hot and moist that good work is almost impossible. 
Neither the state nor the teachers get adequate return for 
their money or effort. Moreover, the annual migration of 
southern teachers to the summer sessions of northern schools 
is very effective in breaking down sectional prejudices. 

It would doubtless be better if some states would make an 
appropriation, equal to that which they have been accus- 
tomed to give for their summer schools, directly to teachers 
wishing to study during the vacation. This would probably 
give these teachers from fifty to one hundred dollars each, 
which would in most cases cover tuition as well as traveling 
expenses. It seems likely that these teachers, with the 



Recreation at Summer Schools 249 

country to choose from, would usually select the stronger 
schools, where they would get excellent courses, and where 
the climate would allow of vigorous work. They would 
also profit by the travel itself, and by meeting teachers from 
other sections. The teachers in service at the normals would 
thus be able to accept summer appointments in places farther 
north and would come back to their winter's work more 
refreshed. Southern states would probably get considerably 
more for their money by making appropriations in this way 
than by holding summer schools of their own. However, 
there are likely to be personal or political considerations which 
will hinder this being done. 

When this plan is not feasible, a number of the schools in 
low and moist districts should secure summer quarters either 
in the mountains or at the shore. Most of the people of 
these sections who can afford it go away during the hottest 
months. It is even more appropriate that the schools should 
have summer homes, because it is no more expensive for 
the teachers to go to school in the mountains or the shore 
than elsewhere. Where a thousand summer students would 
probably spend #100,000, and the state not less than #50,000 
more, an original investment of #50,000 for summer quarters 
might nearly double the return on the annual summer expendi- 
ture. 

In 191 5 California appointed a commission to make a sur- 
vey of its recreational facilities. Every state should have 
such a survey. The tourist crop is probably worth one hun- 
dred million dollars annually to California, and perhaps half 
as much to Florida. No state can profitably allow its people 
to go to other states for their pleasure because it has failed 
to find and develop its own resources. Such a survey might 



250 Recreation for Teachers 

discover admirable sites for the summer schools and chau- 
tauquas of the state. 

A SUMMER CHAUTAUQUA 

What might prove the solution of this problem for the South 
would be for the state to locate in the mountains or on the 
shore a state-wide chautauqua similar to the one recently 
established at Macon, Georgia, or to those at Winona Lake, 
Indiana, and Chautauqua, New York. 

The chautauqua is at present in an anomalous condition, 
but it is one of the largest movements on our horizon, for 
the education of adults. There is reason for thinking that 
it will eventually be organized under the state universities 
or the state departments of education. For the last four or 
five years the Universities of Minnesota and Wisconsin have 
organized a large percentage of the chautauquas in these 
states. 

A combination of summer school and chautauqua would 
be admirable. It could offer superior lectures as well as fine 
music and plays. Indeed, all the recreational facilities of 
the chautauqua would be equally profitable to the summer 
students. The summer school as sponsor for the chautauqua 
would see that its program was not quite so frothy as it some- 
times is. The weather would be cool enough for study, and 
many teachers who could not stand the strain of a school of 
the older type would be glad to attend. 

If it is not feasible to establish summer quarters, the 
schools whose location makes a summer session unwise 
should encourage their clientele to go to other schools, as, 
in Arizona, the Normal School at Tempe sends its students 
to Flagstaff. 



Recreation at Summer Schools 251 

The schools which should secure cool summer quarters 
are not all in the South. There are many others which are 
almost unendurably hot in the summer and which have 
almost no facilities for recreation. These, also, should either 
buy or rent summer homes or close in favor of better located 
schools. 

The expense of summer quarters would be largely met if a 
chautauqua ground were used ; but even if this cannot be 
done, the change need not be costly. Several summers ago 
at the Normal School at Durant, Oklahoma, about two thirds 
of the students lived in tents which were rented from a tent 
and awning company in Kansas City for $2.50 a month. 
Each tent had two cots and accommodated two students. 
There are also certain abandoned or unprofitable hotels, 
some of them with hundreds of rooms, in the mountains and 
at the shore. It might be possible in some cases to secure 
one of these. 

Statistics showing how many schools are already provided 
with summer quarters have not been gathered, but there are 
several. The Y. M. C. A. Training School at Springfield, 
Massachusetts, holds its summer session at Silver Bay, 
New York; the Y. M. C. A. College of Chicago, at Lake 
Geneva, Wisconsin; the School of Science of the University 
of Indiana migrates to Winona Lake, Indiana, and the State 
Normal School at Fresno, California, goes to the Sierras. 

The following quotation from the Fresno Normal's an- 
nouncement for 191 7 is of interest in this connection: 

"The Sierra Summer School is located at the southwest corner of Lake 
Huntington in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, at an elevation of over 
7000 feet. The site for the school is leased from the Sierra Forest Re- 
serve and consists of more than six acres in extent. The situation is 



252 Recreation for Teachers 

some one hundred and fifty or two hundred feet above the lake, with an 
outlook over its surface and towards Mount Kaiser, rising to a height of 
10,300 feet. 

"The distance of Lake Huntington from Fresno is about seventy 
miles. It is reached by the Southern Pacific to El Prado, thence over 
the San Joaquin and Eastern to Cascade, from which point stages run to 
the lake, a distance of four and a half miles. 

"The various railroads of the state have authorized a one and one 
third fare on the certificate plan for the round trip from all parts of Cali- 
fornia." 

Summer Schools for Special Subjects 

We already have several forms of summer schools which 
offer to a person of scholarly interests almost ideal oppor- 
tunities for study combined with a good time. 

MARINE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORIES 

We spent a part of the summer of 191 6 at Laguna Beach, 
California, the site of the summer school of biology of Pomona 
College. The laboratory is a wooden building that prob- 
ably did not cost over two thousand dollars. The school 
is housed in a tent city adjacent to it. It would be hard to 
devise a pleasanter way to spend the summer. There are 
the trips along the beach for the collection of specimens, 
the laboratory study, and the afternoon swim, the occasional 
picnic, the grandeur of sunrises and sunsets, the constant 
change in the color of the water as the tides ebb and flow, 
and the bewildering variety of sea life constantly being cast 
up by the waves. The climate is ideal for summer study. 
Such a site is no less adapted to the work of a regular summer 
school than a school of biology. Indeed it would be much 
simpler to conduct most other departments than biology, 
since there are few others that require so much equipment. 



Recreation at Summer Schools 253 

SUMMER SCHOOLS OF ART 

In California there are no less than eight summer schools 
of art which are devoted to outdoor sketching and painting 
at the seashore or in the mountains. 

SCHOOLS OF SURVEYING 

California boasts also at least two summer schools of 
surveying, whose students spend nearly all their time in actual 
work, mostly in the mountains. The Harvard School of 
Surveying likewise does most of its practical work up in New 
Hampshire in the summer. If the students of such schools 
are congenial, they should have a very good time. 

CLASSES IN GEOLOGY AND PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 

During certain years classes in physical geography at the 
University of California have spent the entire summer ses- 
sion in walking trips through the Sierras and the Coast Range. 
These classes comprised both men and women and offered 
a wonderful opportunity for good fellowship and a good time 
as well as for the study of the most practical side of geology 
and physical geography. 

OTHER TRAVELING SUMMER SCHOOLS 

This idea is applicable to a good many subjects of study. 
For years it has been the custom of certain art schools to spend 
part of their time in traveling and visiting the galleries of the 
Old World. The city planners and the social workers have 
had several summer vacations spent in travel, which were 
practically traveling summer schools ; and it is easy to see 
that a school of physical training might well be a walking 



254 Recreation for Teachers 

school, as might also perhaps schools of vocal music, agri- 
culture, and many other subjects. 

Recreation Now Being Offered at Summer Schools 

Whereas a decade ago there were few schools that made 
any announcement in regard to recreation, many now give 
their recreational facilities considerable prominence. The 
following quotations have been taken, more or less at random, 
from the catalogues of summer schools, and are intended to 
show rather what is being done than what is being done best. 
It is in no way an exhaustive list. 

UNIVERSITY OF UTAH 

A few years ago an announcement such as this from the 
University of Utah would have caused astonishment : 

"The Summer School undertakes primarily to provide opportunities 
for study for persons who because of other employment cannot attend 
the University during the regular college year. But it is not intended 
that students should, even for the brief period of six weeks, attempt a too 
complete concentration on their subjects of study. They should know 
the value of recreation. They should know, too, that the large Summer 
School community has a socializing power which can best be felt in ac- 
tivities outside the classroom. There is, accordingly, ample provision 
for recreative activity. 

"There are many informal games and dances, and story-telling hours 
on the University lawns. A series of dramatic and other readings give 
conspicuous character to the Summer School. 

"Numerous informal excursions are conducted during the summer in 
connection with the work of the various scientific subjects. These are 
open in general to all students of the Summer School. Special events 
are the general Summer School excursions to the Utah Copper Mine at 
Bingham and to Saltair on Great Salt Lake. There are also mountain 
climbing, walking, and camp fire trips." 



Recreation at Summer Schools 255 



NORMAL SCHOOL, EMPORIA, KANSAS 

The Summer School at Emporia, Kansas, situated in the 
vast Kansas prairies, seems to have no special advantages 
as a center for recreational activities, yet it made the follow- 
ing announcement for the summer of 191 7 : 

"While planning a program for serious work in all phases, we consider 
it equally important that the Summer School, to fulfil its highest function, 
should also offer much to brighten and inspire those who come fatigued 
with the year's labors. 

"Free moving-picture exhibitions, educational and recreational, will 
be given frequently. The Department of Public Speaking and Expres- 
sion is planning to give several high-class plays, with a view to showing 
students the possibilities of the drama as an educational factor in their 
home communities. In addition, there will be old-time song fests, 
campus parties, and playground games for everybody ; baseball of high 
class by the teams of the city league on the Normal athletic field three 
evenings a week, at the nominal charge of twenty-four games for one 
dollar. Soden's grove on the Cottonwood River, affords many oppor- 
tunities for outings, group picnics, chautauqua, boating, and bathing." 

"The Student Activity Fee of one dollar, charged all students, admits 
to: 

1. 'The Man from Home,' a modern comedy by Tarkington, given by 

students. 

2. 'Merry Wives of Windsor,' Shakespeare's roaring farce-comedy, 

given by members of faculty and students. 

3. Kansas Historical Pageant — spectacular, dramatic, adaptable to 

any school. Given by students. 

4. The Grand Opera, 'II Trovatore,' given by members of faculty and 

students. 

5. Moving Pictures, instructive and amusing. 

6. Twenty-four Baseball Games and other Sports. 

7. Use of Tennis Courts and Nets." 



256 Recreation for Teachers 

NORMAL SCHOOL, KEARNEY, NEBRASKA 

The Normal School at Kearney, Nebraska, similarly situated 
in a boundless prairie, makes the following announcement : 

"The Kearney Commercial Club gives the entire school a free 25- 
mile auto ride and a free 6 o'clock dinner at the 1733 Ranch. Here all 
will enjoy a personally conducted tour of inspection over this 5000-acre 
ranch, which contains hundreds of domestic animals and thousands of 
birds, both domestic and game. 

"A well-organized Recreation Club makes special plans for outdoor 
games and sports — rides, hikes, picnics, baseball, basket ball, tennis, 
boating, and bathing, thus satisfying the physical demands of young life 
for sane and healthful recreation in this ideal atmosphere." 

About half of the attraction at any resort consists in the 
people who are there, and the facilities furnished for social 
life form a very important part of every summer school. A 
few years ago the writer was at a normal school where every 
student received on the first day a badge with his name upon 
it. At the first assembly the president said, " Every student 
in the school has his name upon a badge, and I hereby intro- 
duce every one to every one else. Hereafter every one will 
consider himself properly introduced and acquainted." This 
little device wiped out formality, and might well be copied in 
other schools. 

Abundant opportunities for students to dine together, to 
picnic together, to form little clubs and groups to carry on 
various undertakings in common, should be offered. 

In the summer schools of several states the teachers from 
each county are organized into a group which has picnics 
of its own and perhaps athletic and other contests with the 
teachers of other counties. In the larger eastern universities 
there is in many cases such an organization of state groups. 



Recreation at Summer Schools 257 

At the Normal School at Gunnison, Colorado, there are regular 
county picnics which are usually trout fries. At Boulder, 
the picnics are largely by states and are usually beefsteak 
fries. 

EXCURSIONS 

At Columbia University, for the summer of 191 7, twenty-five 
different special excursions were offered. One series of these 
took place on Saturdays, while another was arranged for 
2:35 p.m. on nearly every afternoon. 

The University of Michigan makes the following announce- 
ment in regard to excursions : 

"Numerous excursions are conducted in connection with the work in 
botany, zoology, and geology, which are open in many cases to all stu- 
dents of the Summer Session who obtain permission of the instructors 
in charge. The trips to Niagara Falls, and to Put-in-Bay, in Lake Erie, 
being especially instructive, are taken annually by a large number of 
students. On account of the low rates which are obtained, the cost of 
these excursions is very moderate." 

Harvard, among other forms of recreation, offers the follow- 
ing historical excursions : 

"Historical Excursions (carefully planned for both enjoyment and 
instruction) are arranged for Wednesday afternoons and Saturdays to 
the districts of greater historical and literary interest in eastern Massa- 
chusetts. The excursions usually include the following: Cambridge 
and Mt. Auburn ; Bunker Hill and Old Boston ; Lexington and Con- 
cord; 'Whittier Land' and Andover; Plymouth; Salem and Danvers." 

THE WEEK-END CAMP OF THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO 

It may not be feasible for every summer school to have 
a camp where its students may go Friday nights to spend 



258 Recreation for Teachers 

Saturday and Sunday, but there are a number that might 
easily make such an arrangement. This would give an oppor- 
tunity for practical work in domestic economy as well as for 
bird study and the making of collections, for county and 
group picnics, for sitting around the camp fire and singing, 
and for that intimacy which develops friendship as almost 
nothing else can. 

The University of Colorado, in addition to a school of 
Mountain Field Biology located in Tolland at an altitude of 
8889 feet, has a summer camp for week-end and other visits. 
In regard to it the Director of the Summer School writes : 

"This camp, about twenty-five miles from Boulder, is easily acces- 
sible by the D. B. and W. R. R. (Switzerland Trail). The intention is 
to provide camping facilities at cost for the benefit of students, faculty, 
and friends of the University, who wish to spend week-ends or longer 
periods there. It is one of the most attractive spots in the Rocky Moun- 
tains, at an altitude of 9600 feet. There is good fishing. 

"The camp was very popular, especially at week-ends and just after 
the Summer Session. Last summer we charged the campers #1.00 a 
day, which just about met the expense of providing food and caring for 
incidental expenses. We found last summer that we could conduct 
parties to the camp almost any day when there was call for it, and we 
regularly took parties up Friday afternoon and Saturday morning." 

This camp is located in the forest preserve just below the 
Arapahoe Peaks and Glacier. It is a beautiful piece of forest 
of about fifty acres near a small stream which has a delightful 
waterfall only a couple of hundred yards from the camp. 
There are, beside the tents, three permanent cabins; and a 
number of the university professors have selected sites for 
private houses. It is a convenient starting point for a trip 
to the Glacier, and there are beaver dams and lakes and other 
points of interest in the neighborhood. 



Recreation at Summer Schools 259 

THE FOREST PRESERVE OF THE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE, 
FORT COLLINS, COLORADO 

The Agricultural College of Colorado at Fort Collins has 
a forest preserve in the Rocky Mountains, with a lodge in 
Pingree Park 45 miles distant. The lodge is used by the 
students and faculty for week-end and other outings, and the 
members of the faculty are planning to erect summer cabins 
in the park. The eastern line of the Rocky Mountain Na- 
tional Park is only two and a half miles distant. A trail 
leads to Hallett's Glacier, seven and one half miles away; 
another to Specimen Mountain, fifteen miles; and one to 
Estes Park, twenty miles. The president of the College 
considers the park an ideal location for a school of forestry 
and Alpine agriculture, and hopes to have one some time in 
connection with the summer session. 

CAMPING OUT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 

As to camping out in connection with summer study, the 
University of Wisconsin has the following announcement : 

"The University will permit families accompanied by parents, one or 
more members of which are registered in the summer session, to tent 
upon university lakeshore property about two miles from the University. 
A well, pier, and comfort stations are provided. The College Hills auto- 
bus will furnish regular service between the colony and the campus. A 
launch service on Mendota will also furnish transportation twice daily, 
and deliver mail and groceries. The John Gallagher Tent Co., 9-13 
S. Bedford St., Madison, Wisconsin, will rent tents, cots, and chairs." 

The Program of the Summer School 

The summer school is rilling two functions: preparing 
young people who have never taught to pass their examina- 



260 Recreation for Teachers 

tion and get their first school ; and helping experienced teach- 
ers to make progress. In the first capacity it is largely a 
school of drill ; in the second, it is the expositor of the more 
recent movements in education. The first function, which 
was almost the only one a few years ago, is now coming to 
take second place, and we must hope that it will become less 
and less necessary. It is most unwholesome for one who has 
been studying in a high school, or teaching during eight or 
nine months, to cram down the concentrated material of a 
summer program that she may pass an examination in the 
fall. 

The summer school should lay especial emphasis in its pro- 
gram upon activities which will give relief from the work of 
the year. There should be ample opportunities for manual 
training, domestic economy, agriculture, gardening, games, 
folk dancing, Boy Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, music, art, and 
similar activities. As a rule, in a program of twelve to fifteen 
hours a week, the teacher should not elect more than six or 
seven hours of scholastic work. This should leave enough 
energy at night for making friends and having a good time. 

In nearly all of the larger summer schools there are now 
good-sized classes in folk dancing, in games, and in play- 
ground activities. This is as it should be, but the numbers 
ought to be greater. Every teacher ought to take some 
vigorous outdoor exercise during the summer, and learn how 
to organize the play of her children. 

Every summer school ought to furnish adequate facilities 
for tennis, indoor baseball, volley ball, basket ball, baseball, 
swimming, and bowling on the green. Every teacher who 
doesn't know how to play tennis or to swim should learn dur- 
ing the summer. 



Recreation at Summer Schools 261 

In general the time from four to six every day should be 
given to outdoor activities, including games, sports, garden- 
ing, excursions, and the like. 

If the students take from six to seven for supper, this 
would leave them an hour before they begin their evening 
studies. Many things might be done during this hour which 
would be recreative and at the same time highly educative. 
They might swim in the pool, bowl in a bowling alley, or have 
informal dances or receptions ; but probably the forms of 
recreation which are most feasible are moving pictures, 
victrola or phonograph entertainments, story-telling, and 
community singing. If the pictures are taken from biography 
or literature or geography or travel, they should be as instruc- 
tive as class work. At the larger schools admission tickets 
at about two cents each, or fifty cents for the summer, would 
cover all expenses and furnish superior films. One or two 
evenings a week there might well be victrola or phonograph 
concerts. 

It should be possible, also, to furnish every year to all 
the larger summer schools that are on main railroad lines 
some good music and plays by actors such as ordinarily are 
seen only in the great cities. The normal school can furnish 
to a theatrical or operatic company a stage and auditorium 
without charge and an almost absolutely assured audience of 
five hundred to a thousand. When to these are added the 
people from the town who would be glad to come, it would 
seem well worth while for many of the best companies to make 
a feature of work with summer schools. Of course there are 
already a number of companies which specialize in outdoor 
performances, like the Ben Greet Players and the Coburn 
Players. The most serious difficulty with such a program 



262 Recreation for Teachers 



is that the summer schools so seldom cooperate with each 
other, and it may be necessary for the lecturer or company 
that has this week in Michigan to spend the next in California 
and the following in Pennsylvania. If all the lecture and 
special features could be routed through the office of the 
Commissioner of Education, they could be provided much 
more cheaply than in any other way. This would mean na- 
tional aid to children through the normal schools, compa- 
rable with what the nation is already offering to cows and pigs 
through the agricultural colleges and experiment stations. 
A considerable number of the Commissioner's staff are already 
lecturing at the summer schools. This furnishes a nucleus 
and a precedent for further extension along this line. 

At least one evening a week, and possibly two, there should 
be story-telling on the lawn. This was begun many years 
ago at Knoxville when Commissioner Claxton was Director 
of the Summer School of the South, and has found its way 
since to the campus of many summer schools. Story-telling 
is coming into education more and more. 

On Sunday evening, perhaps, or at any rate on one of the 
evenings, the school should get together on the lawn for com- 
munity singing. Not all students can sing much, but those 
who cannot sing may still enjoy the singing, and it is remark- 
able how good the general result is when a thousand people 
are singing, even though some may be off the key. 

There is every probability that community singing will 
come into greater prominence. The Playground and Recrea- 
tion Association of America is furnishing a director of com- 
munity singing at each of the military camps, and some of 
these have choruses of ten or twelve thousand singers. Harry 
Barnhart has organized immense choruses in and around 






Recreation at Summer Schools 263 

New York City which have attracted national attention. 
Every teacher needs this practice and most will enjoy it. 
There are a number of schools at which such general singing 
is being carried on. 

This program of recreation has not only the positive value 
of furnishing something good and wholesome and profitable, 
but also the negative value of keeping students away from 
downtown picture shows and dance halls and from loitering 
about the streets where conditions cannot be controlled. 

Besides the activities mentioned, it would be worth while 
in many of the larger summer schools to have a class in pho- 
tography. There are many occasions when a knowledge of 
photography and the developing and printing of pictures 
comes in very handy, especially for an art teacher. The 
pictures taken might also be a considerable asset to the school, 
as many of them might be used for publicity. So far as the 
work is outdoors it would be genuinely recreative. At the 
normal school of Kirksville, Missouri, there has been for a 
long time a class of this kind, which has also made thousands 
of lantern slides. 

A RECREATION SURVEY 

One of the first things that ought to be done at every 
summer school is to make a thorough survey or inventory 
of its possibilities for recreation. This should include the 
facilities for baseball, football, tennis, basket ball, volley 
ball and general games ; the facilities for swimming and 
rowing ; its chautauqua program, with lectures, musical 
numbers and motion pictures ; the social occasions organized 
at the school ; dramas, operettas, and entertainments given 
by the students; opportunities for excursions, etc. Such 



264 Recreation for Teachers 

a survey would be sure to reveal many opportunities which 
are not utilized. 

Places of interest that could be reached by a ten-mile 
walk, or by train or trolley or automobile, at an expense of 
not more than a dollar per person, should be listed. These 
should include literary and historic landmarks, and also places 
of interest to classes in agriculture, domestic economy, manual 
training, geology, geography, botany, or other school sub- 
jects. Each school might well place in the hands of each of 
its students a small booklet outlining such trips. 

School Dormitories 

Probably the normal school needs the dormitory more than 
any other school, for its summer as well as the other sessions. 
The majority of the teachers come from small villages or 
the open country where they have had little social life and few 
opportunities to meet people. It is out of the life which centers 
in dormitories that the school spirit which makes a great 
college or university develops. The normals will never come 
to their own, they will never have the dignity or influence 
which they deserve or give the social training which their 
students require, until there are ample dormitory facilities. 

Most of the students at summer schools are experienced 
teachers who have met with difficulties and are glad of an 
opportunity of talking with other teachers with similar expe- 
riences. They are likely to learn nearly as much from this as 
from the program of the school. 

There are many schools that have dormitories, but few 
of these, if any, are adequate to summer needs. At the 
Teachers College at Greeley, Colorado, there is a splendid 
social building which serves as headquarters for social occa- 



Recreation at Summer Schools 265 

sions among the students. This is only a substitute for ade- 
quate dormitories with social halls and dining rooms, but it 
serves a very useful function. 

Cooperation among the Different Departments 

Each department of the summer school should be expected 
to offer something to the general recreation program of the 
school. This might well be a sort of general exhibition or 
pageant of the work that the department is doing, and might 
be given at the morning assembly. The Normal School at 
Kirks ville, Missouri, has given every summer for many years 
one or more operettas such as " Pinafore " and " The Pirates of 
Penzance.'' They are occasions to which the student body 
looks forward and which are thoroughly enjoyed. They 
also give incentive to the work in music during the summer 
and make it more interesting and valuable. 

At the Teachers College at Greeley, Colorado, one or more 
plays, usually Shakespearean, are presented each summer. 
In the summer of 191 7 " Twelfth Night" was excellently given 
by the students upon the lawn. Dramatics are coming into 
education, and teachers should have more experience in acting. 

Many of the summer schools now have an annual play 
festival at the close of the sessions with games, outdoor 
athletics, and folk dancing. It is impossible to say at how 
many summer schools this is done, but it is true of a large 
number. Of the eight schools visited by the writer during 
the summer of 191 7, the Normal School at Tahlequah, Okla- 
homa, gave a pageant representing the coming of the Five 
Nations to Indian Territory ; and at Huntsville, Texas, the 
history of Texas, including its Mexican period, its independ- 
ent period, and its history as a state, was represented. 



266 Recreation for Teachers 

It might not be equally easy for all departments to contrib- 
ute to the recreation program, but the departments of agri- 
culture, manual training, physical geography, and nature or 
bird study could conduct interesting walking trips, and the 
art department might give an exhibition. 

A Director of Recreation 

It is best that there should be a special director of recreation. 
The same person might be also the director of physical train- 
ing, but this is by no means necessary. Much of this recre- 
ation is not physical training. 

A Special Fee 

It is not necessary that there should be a fee for the recrea- 
tion that has been outlined, but summer schools often err in 
failing to furnish important facilities to their students on 
account of a slight additional expense. An entertainment 
fee of two dollars at a school with a thousand students would 
mean two thousand dollars for features which might double 
the attractiveness of the school. Students cannot afford 
to spend a hundred dollars on summer study and withhold 
two dollars which would add ten or twenty or fifty per cent 
to its value. Nearly all the activities mentioned can be offered 
gratis by charging such a fee. 

The Selection of a Summer School 

The final decision of the question of recreation really lies 
with the summer students, for the schools will in the end meet 
their demands. There are schools which already furnish 



Recreation at Summer Schools 267 

almost ideal conditions, both for a good time and for study. 
Why should not students select these schools? 

Many teachers are already acting on this principle, as the 
figures from the normal schools and universities of Colorado 
and California show. At the Normal School of San Diego 
with its wonderful location, out of an enrollment of about 
200, there were 51 teachers from outside the state in 191 6, 
and 40 in 191 7; at the University of California, out of an 
enrollment in 1917 of 3975, 777 came from other states and 
66 from foreign countries. In the State Teachers College at 
Greeley, out of a total enrollment of about 1300, 236 were 
from outside the state. 

Probably the University of Colorado offers as great oppor- 
tunities for recreation as any summer school, as the moun- 
tains are only a mile or so away, and it lies at the entrance 
to Boulder Canon with its picturesque scenery and its 
tungsten and other mines. Beside its week-end camp, 
the University organizes week-end automobile trips to Estes 
Park and to the mines and other places of interest in the neigh- 
borhood. Many of the students also go out on walking trips 
and horseback rides. 

The registration at the University for 1916 and 191 7 was 
distributed as follows : 

Summer Session 1916 

Total enrollment, 832. Number coming from outside the 
state, 633. 

States having more than 20 — Colorado, 199; Illinois, 51 ; 
Iowa, 34; Kansas, 134; Missouri, 123 ; Nebraska, 30; Okla- 
homa, 53 ; Texas, 87. 

Number of states represented, 33; foreign countries, 2. 



268 Recreation for Teachers 

Summer Session 191 7 

Total enrollment, 768 ; number of students from outside 
the state, 566. 

States having more than 20 — Colorado, 202 ; Illinois, 32 ; 
Iowa, 26; Kansas, 103 ; Missouri, 122 ; Nebraska, 37 ; Okla- 
homa, 59 ; Texas, 85. 

Number of states represented, 33 ; foreign countries, 2. 

This large registration of students from outside the state 
was evidently due largely to the climate and the opportuni- 
ties for recreation. 

With abundant facilities for social life, games, excursions, 
moving pictures, story- telling, community singing, and good 
drama, a summer school which is located in a comfortable 
climate should be more attractive to an educated man or 
woman than the ordinary summer resort. 

There are doubtless some who will say that if so much recre- 
ation is provided the students will neglect their studies. But 
every one must admit that thus far this has not been so. 
Summer students are very conscientious and hard-working. 
They tend to work too hard rather than to play too much. 

Such a program will help to increase the attendance in sev- 
eral ways. The students having more social life and a better 
time will develop a strong loyalty to the school. When 
they go back to their homes they will talk about the things 
they have done and the good times they have had. Nearly 
all of this program is good publicity material. Papers will 
gladly report a play festival or pageant or an excursion, and 
thus will constantly advertise the school. Nearly all of these 
outdoor occasions also make good photographs, which will 
be gladly used by the papers as well as shown at home by the 
participants. 



Recreation at Summer Schools 269 

In order to secure the attendance of all teachers at summer 
schools, it is only necessary to make them so attractive that 
the teachers wish to come, and so cheap that they can afford 
to do so. However, many teachers are paid such an inade- 
quate salary that it is almost impossible for them to spend 
much except for absolute necessities. They should either 
be paid by the school boards for the time spent at summer 
schools, as they are for attending institutes, or the state should 
provide room, board, and tuition free. 

The summer normals have teachers from almost every 
city and county in the country. If these teachers absorb 
the spirit of recreation and realize that these things are coming 
into education, we may anticipate that these ideas will soon 
percolate out into the general teaching body. The results 
which may confidently be expected are a lighter, more joyous 
spirit in the teachers' work, a willingness to take better care 
of their health, and a determination to organize the play of 
their pupils. 



CHAPTER XVI 
CONCLUSIONS 

We have seen that teachers are especially subject to tuber- 
culosis, nervous troubles, constipation, and indigestion; 
that they often become academic and pedantic, both features 
and character being set hard, by the discipline of the 
school. The routine teaching of a single grade without 
further study tends almost inevitably to arrested develop- 
ment, and the age of retirement of teachers is below the age 
of maximum capacity in some other professions. 

There must be something essentially wrong in any pro- 
fession in which, despite a short day, a short week, and frequent 
vacations, so much sickness and so many breakdowns occur. 
It is believed that the great strain of teaching comes from 
the requirement of keeping little children still in opposition 
to their natural instincts ; that there should be at least two 
recesses each morning and afternoon, when the teacher 
shall play outdoors with the children ; that gardening, 
nature study, educational excursions, manual training, 
domestic economy, and music should be furnished to all chil- 
dren. These will make the school more like life, and remove 
most of the strain from both the teacher and the child. 

What and When 

While teachers supposedly have more leisure than most 
other workers, this leisure is seldom utilized for legitimate 
purposes, many of them not even taking Saturday afternoon 

270 



Conclusions 271 

off, but devoting it to housework, mending, school work, 
and similar occupations. The common recreations of teachers 
are reading, fancy work, moving pictures, and walking to 
and from school. These activities are not suited to furnish 
the relief which the teacher needs. The peculiar advantage 
of the profession, abundant leisure, is largely wasted, because 
the teacher has no plan for it, and no program of recreation 
or study to follow. 

The teacher's recreation should, first of all, be out of doors. 
It should be so absorbing as to cause her to forget her work 
completely, and it should give her good exercise, society, 
and vital experience. Apparently the only forms of recrea- 
tion which really recreate are those activities which have 
come up from the infancy of the race, which represent in- 
herited coordinations and movements, and arouse feelings 
connected with the deeper layers of energy and the oldest 
associations. In other words, in order really to rest and 
recuperate, we must go back to nature and pursue activities 
similar to those followed by our remote ancestors. Some 
anticipation and a plan are very helpful in enabling the 
teacher to drop her work. 

It should become a fixed habit with teachers to spend the 
time from four to six out of doors every day, almost as regu- 
larly as they have their meals, and they should frequently 
go off for a picnic supper in the pleasant weather, so that 
they may have four hours instead of two. 

The teacher should not work on Saturday afternoon, and, 
as a rule, in the pleasant weather, at least, she should not 
attend the theater. Excursions of various kinds, visits to 
the points of interest in the neighborhood, outdoor games, 
or other vigorous activities should fill this precious half-day. 



272 Recreation for Teachers 

Occasionally, during the year, when nature calls or the 
teacher is overwearied, she should take the week-end for a 
trip home or to the shore, the mountains, or the country, 
that she may think out her problems and find relief from the 
strain of her work or comfort for her troubles. The auto- 
mobile offers wonderful opportunities for trips which will 
bring a complete change from the work of the week. 

The teacher as a rule does not have enough social life. 
There should be a clubhouse outside the city, where she 
might go occasionally for week-ends, and also a club building 
in the city, which, with proper grounds surrounding it, 
would furnish facilities for tennis, croquet, bowling, swimming, 
gymnastics, lectures, dinners, and social occasions, and which 
might also be the residence of a number of the teachers. 

With more social life, she should gain in social experience 
and attractiveness. Out of intimacy and the mothering of 
children, she should develop those tender feminine qualities 
which are woman's highest charm. 

Where she becomes learned in local conditions and indus- 
tries, she will have an influence in the community which a 
knowledge of the pyramids or the rules of syntax can never 
give her. Through her knowledge of the community she 
will become, unwittingly it may be, a guide to the children 
in the pursuits they are to follow, for her attitude toward 
different professions and industries may largely determine 
their choice. It will become advisable for the local in- 
dustries to make a favorable impression upon her. This 
power of guidance may be dangerous to her, as it may lead 
to persecution by the industries which are not favored, but 
it is sure to give her a larger influence. 

If the late afternoons and evenings of teachers' institutes 



Conclusions 273 

were organized for excursions and recreation, this week, now 
often dreaded, might become the red letter week of the year. 
Its educational value, also, might be greatly increased by this 
means. 

A Larger Life 

We are apparently on the eve of a time which is to bring 
a great new independence to woman; not merely the right 
to vote, but the right to live her own life and to follow any 
occupation she may choose. It is essential, in this larger 
liberty, that woman should be emancipated from her timidity 
and also from the conventionality of her clothes, that she 
may be free to go where she pleases, and dress in any way 
that may be best adapted to the activities which she wishes 
to follow. 

It is desirable that the teacher shall know what the life 
and occupations of the community are. It is even more 
desirable that she should have experience with a number of 
different kinds of occupations, in order that she may under- 
stand the lives for which she is preparing her children, and 
because work at its best is often quite as educative as the 
school. It is possible for her to select occupations during 
the summer which will be directly helpful to her in her school 
work. 

The form of summer recreation which seems best suited 
to the teacher is travel. This is best because of its edu- 
cational value to herself, and because it makes all her school 
work more vivid and her instruction more vital. It is de- 
sirable that every teacher should take, nearly every summer, 
a walking trip of two or three weeks, if possible; or a trip 
of similar or greater length by automobile. The automobile 



274 Recreation for Teachers 

is cheaper than the train, and also gives far better oppor- 
tunities for the study of the country traversed. There 
should be a strenuous effort, however, to secure a lower rate 
on the railroads for teachers than now prevails, on the ground 
that they are public servants who are poorly compensated, 
and that traveling by teachers always results later in a great 
deal more travel by their pupils. 

A National Walkers' Club 

In order that women may be as free to go about the country 
as men are, and receive help and hospitality, there should 
be a national organization with a distinctive badge or uniform, 
so that its members might be recognized and assisted wherever 
they go. If the teachers' clubhouse and residence might 
offer hospitality to traveling women, it would be a great 
advantage. Perhaps the simplest method of organization 
would be the extension of the membership of such clubs 
as the Sierra or the Mazama Club, and local walking clubs 
around each city, which might finally be federated into a 
national organization. 

A Director of Recreation 

The recreation here outlined will not organize itself. During 
the hundred years that our public schools have been in opera- 
tion, the teachers have not organized it. There is a new 
realization of its importance, and we may expect that more 
and more will be done. But if it is to be done within the time 
of service of those now teaching, there must be some one who 
will take a vital interest in it and give time and effort to it. 
This might be the superintendent of schools or the director 



Conclusions 275 

of physical training or a committee of teachers. But it is 
doubtful if any of these will be satisfactory. We made little 
progress in the play movement in any of our cities until we 
secured a capable person to give time and energy to its or- 
ganization. I suspect the same will be true of the recreation 
of teachers. They are not at present doing more for them- 
selves than the children did before the playgrounds were 
opened. There should be a director of recreation and social 
activities, a sort of physical-social secretary for the teachers 
in all of our larger school systems. It should be his or her 
business to see that the teachers have the proper amount 
of outdoor life and exercise and such social opportunities as 
they need. 

The play movement may in time be so fully organized 
as to furnish these facilities to all the adults of the city, the 
teachers included ; but it does not seem likely that this will 
come within the next decade. If the present body of teachers 
wish these things they themselves or the school boards must 
bring them to pass. 

The Training of the Normal School 

The normal school must give the training which will pre- 
pare teachers for these activities. Already many schools 
have made a beginning. 

Narrow-chested people with slight lung power and tuber- 
cular tendency and the nervously unstable should be dis- 
suaded from entering the profession. For them, teaching 
will be a dangerous trade. 

Certain habits of exercise, including outdoor use of the 
hours from four to six every day, and frequent trips on Satur- 
day afternoons, should be implanted in every student. 



276 Recreation for Teachers 

Normal students should learn the common children's games 
and be prepared to organize them, no less than methods in 
arithmetic and grammar. They should also have manual 
training, domestic economy, nature study, gardening, and 
school excursions, because these are activities which are 
necessary to the welfare of both the teacher and the child, 
and because they are coming into education. There should 
be more emphasis on dramatics, because the child is essen- 
tially dramatic, and because the teachers themselves should 
often give plays. Perhaps many of them may be actors in the 
public theater of the future. 

One of the most fundamental needs is for ample dormitory 
facilities at the normal schools. If teachers are to have influ- 
ence and social prestige, they must have had much social 
experience and be socially attractive. The dormitory is 
necessary to the organization of the leisure time of normal 
students. Without it they cannot have the type of recreation 
they need, nor belong to the social clubs and have the parties 
and other activities which are necessary to their social training. 
Social life is even more essential in the normal school than 
it is at Bryn Mawr or Wellesley ; it should give to the teacher 
some such social polish and tact as Annapolis and West Point 
give to the cadets. 

Teaching as an Ideal Profession 

Teachers have not come to love teaching as lawyers, doctors, 
or clergymen love their professions, which indicates that it is 
not really suited to them, or that their training and viewpoint 
in regard to it have not been satisfactory. Health and the 
love for children, which come from proper recreation, from 
child study, and from intimate association with little ones, 



Conclusions 277 

are essential. The teacher has abundant time to keep herself 
in perfect physical condition, to grow strong and well and 
beautiful, to come into close contact with children and guide 
them into life, which is the service that the mother heart 
has ever most desired. She has abundant time and oppor- 
tunity to continue her education. 

Probably two thirds of the teachers of the United States 
are under twenty-five years of age. Eighty or ninety per cent 
of them are women of the age when mating usually takes 
place and when their chief hope is for love and a home. For 
most of these, pedagogy is only the portico to the temple 
of matrimony. Teaching should be one of the best possible 
preparations for motherhood. 

In the new profession of teaching which is already at our 
doors, all of these things should come to pass. If the school 
periods are shortened, if intermissions are more frequent, 
if the teacher has not only the three R's but gardening, 
nature study, play, the conduct of excursions, and similar 
activities which use the motor nature of the child, the nervous 
strain will be largely removed, and the teacher will have left 
those pleasanter duties of guiding the child along the line 
of his own fundamental interests. Out of the more intimate 
relationships which come from games, excursions, and the like 
will grow a kindlier feeling between pupil and teacher, and the 
development of social and maternal instincts. From con- 
tinued study should come continued growth. There is no 
other profession which offers possibilities so great both for 
service and for development as teaching at its best. On 
the other hand, the old-time scholastic routine offers little 
vital training for the prospective wife and mother. Many 
become nervous and anaemic and cross from teaching. Con- 



278 Recreation for Teachers 

stant standing is injurious to women from a sex point of view 
and may result in displacements. 

Nearly all the recreation spoken of is planned for the time 
between four and eight in the afternoon and for week-ends 
and vacations. At present teachers are getting little of 
value out of this time and are often pursuing activities that 
bring additional strain instead of giving relief. If one keeps 
in mind the things that may and should be done, these 
things will begin to organize themselves. Clear ideas and 
plans are essential to success in this as in other fields. 

Recreation Will Result in Better Teaching 

These activities will make the teacher more efficient. She 
will more often visit the homes of the parents. She will 
come to know the industries of the neighborhood and be 
familiar with its geography. She will play her part in the 
community center and help to furnish entertainments. These 
activities will help to bring the school and the community 
together and give the teacher a first-hand knowledge of local 
conditions and the life for which her school is supposed to 
prepare. There will be a vocational point of view to her 
teaching which will make it more practical and helpful. Her 
knowledge, having a sure foundation on actual things seen 
and studied, will seem more practical. As an active in- 
terest in outdoor activities brings her nearer to child life 
and makes her more sympathetic with it, she will be a more 
wholesome ideal for children to follow. 

The Solution of Three Fundamental Problems 

In the type of recreation advocated, there lies the solution 
of three of our fundamental educational problems. 



Conclusions 279 

The first of these is organized play. In many cities the 
great difficulty is the attitude of the teachers — not any 
theoretical objection, but the fact that they themselves do 
not wish to play. The recreation which has been dis- 
cussed has little to do with physical training. There is no 
reason why a nature study trip or an afternoon picnic or an 
automobile excursion should be in charge of a physical di- 
rector. Physical training should be largely incidental to 
doing things. Recreation should not be so technical and 
expert as to prevent any teacher who has had a play course 
and some practice in the normal school from taking charge of 
it. It is not expedient that the daily organizing of play 
should be under special teachers, because the teacher needs 
the play as much as the child, and out of this playing to- 
gether comes a new attitude — a kindlier feeling between 
teacher and pupil — which is often in itself the solution of 
the problem of discipline. This condition is necessary to the 
social and moral welfare of the teacher and the child alike. 
It insures, also, better health for the teachers and better 
health and physical development for the children. 

The second is the problem of idle hands for the city child 
in summer. The playground alone does not meet this diffi- 
culty because not more than thirty or forty per cent of the 
children attend, and because the average period of attendance 
is less than an hour, which means that the child still has 
nearly all of his time left for loafing. The child does not 
wish to play all of the time. There must be industries and 
sports as well as play to keep him wholesomely, occupied. 
Apparently the best solution is offered by a fourth term 
of the school, which will lay its chief emphasis on outdoor 
activities, 



280 Recreation for Teachers 

The third problem is the nerve strain and social unrest 
involved in the congestion of our cities. Most of our great 
centers are growing rapidly, while the majority of our rural 
districts and country villages are losing in population. One 
reason for this is industrial, but another is social. People 
move into cities in order that they may go to theaters and 
moving-picture shows, attend concerts, and enjoy the rec- 
reative life of the city. However, few of these recreations 
are wholesome or mean real rebuilding. They are mostly 
passive ; they are carried on indoors, and they often involve 
nerve strain. 

If the teacher has developed an enthusiasm for the out- 
of-doors, a love for birds and trees and flowers, for land- 
scapes, for such activities as rowing, bicycling, walking, and 
the playing of games in the open, it seems likely that her 
attitude will lead the children also to love these things. They 
will choose to go back to nature when they have an oppor- 
tunity rather than to spend their time loafing on the street 
corners or attending picture shows. This is the fundamental 
cure for the congestion of our cities and the nerve strain and 
social problems which this involves. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Angell, Emmett Dunn. Play. Comprising Games for the Kinder- 
garten, Playground, Schoolroom, and College. 190 p. Little, 
Brown, and Co., 1910. #1.50. 
Bancroft, Jessie H. Games for the Playground, Home, School and 
Gymnasium. 456 p. Macmillan, 1909. $1.50. 
Boy Scouts of America. Official Handbook for Boys. 498 p. Double- 
day, Page & Co., 1916. #.25. 
Handbook for Scout Masters. 352 p. Doubleday, 1914. #.50. 
Bryant, Sarah Cone. Stories to Tell Children. 243 p. Houghton, 

Mifflin & Co., 1907. #1.00. 
Burchenal, Elizabeth. Dances of the People. A second volume of 
folk dances and singing games. 83 p. Schirmer. Paper, #1.50; 
cloth, #2.50. 
Folk Dances and Singing Games. 92 p. Schirmer, 1910. #1.50. 
May Day Celebrations. 14 p. Russell Sage Foundation, 1914. #.05. 
Camp Fire Girls of America. The Book of the Camp Fire Girls. 61 p. 
The Camp Fire Girls, N. Y. $.25. 
Burke, Frederick. Individual Instructions, Studies Normal School, 

San Francisco. 
Cary, C. P. Plays and Games for Schools. Madison, Wis., 191 1. 
Chubb, Percival, and associates. Festivals and Plays in Schools and 

Elsewhere. 403 p. Illus. Harper, 191 2. #2.00. 
Crawford, Caroline. Folk Dances and Games. 82 p. Barnes, 

1909. #1.50. 
Curtis, Henry S. Education Through Play. 359 p. Illus. Mac- 
millan, 1914. $1.25. 
Play and Recreation in the Open Country. 265 p. Illus. Ginn, 

1914. #1.16. 
The Practical Conduct of Play. 360 p. Illus. Macmillan, 191 5. 

3i.5o. 

281 



282 Bibliography 

The Play Movement and its Significance. 346 p. Illus. Macmillan, 

1917. $1.50. 
Dorland, W. G. The Age of Mental Virility. 229 p. Century Co. 
Dudley, Gertrude, and Frances A. Kellor. Athletic Games in the 

Education of Women. 268 p. Holt, 1909. $2.25. 
Gulick, Luther Halsey. The Healthful Art of Dancing. 237 p. 

Illus. Doubleday, Page & Co. 1910. #1.40. 
Hemenway, Herbert D. How to Make School Gardens. 107 p. Illus. 

Doubleday, 1903. $1.00. 
Hofer, Mari R. Children's Singing Games — Old and New. 42 p. 

Flanagan, 1902. Paper, #.50. 
Popular Folk Games and Dances. 56 p. Flanagan, 1907. Paper, #.75. 
Johnson, George E. Education by Plays and Games. 234 p. Illus. 

Ginn, 1907. $.90. 
Education Through Recreation. 94 p. Illus. Cleveland Founda- 
tion. $.25. 
What to Do at Recess. 33 p. Illus. Ginn & Co. £.25. 
Langdon, William Chauncy. Suggestions for Celebrating the Fourth 

of July by Means of Pageantry. 56 p. Russell Sage Foundation, 

1912. #.15. 
Lee, Joseph. Play in Education. 500 p. Macmillan, 191 5. $1.25. 
Miller, Louise Klein. Children's Gardens for School and Home. 

235 p. Appleton, 1904. $1.20. 
Parsons, Henry Griscom. Children's Gardens for Pleasure, Health 

and Education. 226 p. Sturgis & Walton Co. 1910. $1.00. 
Patrick, G. T. W. The Psychology of Relaxation. 280 p. Houghton, 

Mifflin & Co., 1916, 
Perry, Clarence Arthur. Wider Use of the School Plant. 423 p. 

Russell Sage Foundation, 1910. $1.25. 
Playground and Recreation Association of America. Proceedings, 

1907-1913. Vol. I-VII. 
Stecher, William A. Games and Dances. 165 p. McVey, 191 2. 

$1.25. 
Terman, Lewis M. The Hygiene of the School Child. 417 p. 

Illus. Houghton Mifflin Co., 1914. #1.65. 
The Measurement of Intelligence ; an explanation of, and a complete 

guide for the use of the Stanford Revision, and an extension of the 



Bibliography 283 

Binet-Simon intelligence scale. 362 p. Illus. Houghton Mifflin 

Co., 1916. #1.50. 
The Teacher's Health. 133 p. Houghton Mifflin Co., 1013. 
Tuberculosis in the Dusty Trades. Studies Department of Labor. 
Ward, Edward J., editor. The Social Center. 359 p. Appleton, 

1913. #1.50. 
Wood, Dr. Thomas. The Health of Teachers. Monograph. Col. 

Union. 
Wyche, Richard T. Some Great Stories and How to Tell Them. 181 p. 

Newson & Co., New York, 1910. #1.00. 



INDEX 



Abstract ideas, 37. 
Acting, 24. 
Aeroplane, 127. 
Agassiz, 36. 
Age of retirement, 11. 
Agriculture, 191. 
Anticipation, 59. 
Appalachian Club, 104. 
Art galleries, 137. 
Athletics, 25, 79, 205. 
Attendance, 210. 
Attention, 56. 

Attractiveness, personal, 38. 
Atypical children, 19. 
Automobile, 72, 125, 143, 237. ] 
Automobile club, 126. 
Avocations, 45, 46, 48, 49, 70. 

Backward children, 67. 

Baggage, for walking, 146, 147. 

Baseball, 35, 45, 49, 50, 55, 76; indoor, 137. 

Basket ball, 43, 49, 50, 102. 

Bath, 52, 54. 

Bathing, 144. 

Beauty, 7. 

Benefit for teachers, 99. 

Bibliography, 281. 

Bicycling, 73, 233. 

Billiards, 102. 

Bird study, 118. 

Boat trips, 142. 

Bonfire, 120. 

Botany, 36. 

Bowling, 45, 49, 101 ; on the green, 81. 

Boy Scouts, 28, 204. 

Burke, Dr., 28. 

Butterfly, 118. 

Camera, 129. 

Camp, municipal, 153; week-end, 152. 



Camp fire, 91, 106, 151. 

Camp Fire Girls, 28, 204. 

Camping, 45, 47, 48, 104, 144. 

Camping out, 208, 216, 259. 

Canoeing, 45, 47, 48, 76, 234. 

Canvassing, 192. 

Cards, 101. 

Cathedrals, 135. 

Chauffeur, 72. j 

Chautauqua, 219. 

Chautauqua institute, 163, 250. 

Chickens, 71. 

Child, problem and solution of, 211. 

Children, atypical, 19; backward, 67; 

love of, 37, 39. 
Children's diseases, 16. 
Church, 144. 
Civic work, 206. 
Classes, size of, 19. 
Claxton, P. P., 21, 96. 
Cleveland, Grover, 9. 
Clothing, 55, 146, 276. 
Club, Appalachian, 104; automobile, 

126; Mazama, 104, 121; Sierra, 104; 

teachers', 94, 171. 
Clubhouse, 96, 155. 
Coasting, 45, 47, 48, 78. 
Continuation school for city teachers, 

175- 

Convents, 136. 
Corn roast, 119. 
Correcting papers, 20. 
Council Bluffs, 179. 
Curriculum, 15, 20. 

Dancing, 44, 46, 47, 49, 88, 95, 100, 137. 
Daylight saving, 62. 
Decatur, 46. 
Democratic attitude, 58. 
Dining room, 18. 

285 



286 



Index 



Dinner servitude, 82. 

Director of playgrounds, 196; of recrea- 
tion, 266, 274. 
Diseases of children, 16. 
Domestic economy, 23. 
Dormitories, 96, 264. 
Dreaming, 94. 
Drinking water, 17. 
Driving, 44, 46, 48, 49, 63, 74> «>7- 
Drudgery, 34. 
Dust, 6. 
Dyspepsia, 32. 

Education, work as a means of, 188. 

Enjoyment, of life, 13 ; of teaching, 21, 40. 

Entertainments, 204. 

Environment, 38. 

Evenings, 87, 172. 

Evolution, 16, 17. 

Examination, physical, 16. 

Excursions, 27, 37, 45, 48, 63, 107, 109, 

no, 113, 115, 167, 257. 
Exhibitions, 166. 

Factories, 115. 

Fancy work, 44, 46, 47, 49, 55, 61, 63, 65, 

88, 101, 106, 108. 
Farm, municipal, 153; school, 209. 
Fatigue, 51, 55- 
Fishing, 45, 83, 128, 143. 
Flint, 44. 

Flowers, 71, 117, 126, 138. 
Football, 45. 

Games, 45, 47, 50, 64, 80, 89, 107. 
Gardening, 23, 45, 46, 48, 49, 63, 65, 7°, 

106, 108, 205. 
Geography, 21. 
Germs, 16. 
Glasses, 55. 
Golf, 81. 
Governess, 194. 
Grace, 9. 
Growth, 9, 10. 
Guide, 195. 

Half holiday, 105. 

Hammock, psychology and sociology of, 

186. 
Happiness, 32, 38. 



Harvest Festival, no. 

Health, 2, 35, 39, 66, no. 

History, 21. 

Horseback riding, 45, 47, 48, 73, 143. 

Hospitality, 168. 

Housekeeping, 100. 

Housework, 45, 46, 48, 49, 63, 65, 88, 90, 

106, 108, 138. 
Humidifying, 6. 
Hunting, 48, 128. 

Indoor baseball, 102. 
Industrial crafts, 203. 
Influence, personal, 38. 
Inhibition, 22. 
Inspiration, 39, 43. 
Institutes, 97, 106, 159. 
Insurance, 192. 
Intermissions, 26. 

Jitney, 72. 
Johnstown, 64, 108. 

Kansas City, 62, 106. 
Keeping in, 67. 
Keosauqua, 49. 
Knowledge, love of, 36. 

Leisure, 1. 

Length of school periods, 26. 

Life, enjoyment of, 13 ; social, 183. 

Lighting, 18; of playgrounds, 103. 

Loafing, 70. 

Lodging, 149. 

Love making, 139. 

Love, of children, 37, 39; of knowledge, 

36. 
Lung capacity, 6. 

Manual training, 23. 

Marriage, 39. 

Marshmallows, 120. 

Mathematics, 22. 

Mazama Mountain Club, 104, 121, 148. 

Meals, 94. 

Medical inspection, 15. 

Monasteries, 146. 

Montessori, 28. 

Moonlight, 102. 

Motorboat, 234. 



Index 



287 



Motorcycle, 234. 

Motoring, 44, 46, 48, 49, 65, 109. 

Mountain climbing, 83, 137. 

Mountains, recreation at, 218. 

Movies, 44, 46, 48, 54, 89, 100, 172. 

Municipal camp, 153; farm, 153. 

Museum, 118. 

Music, 24, 54, 101, 108, 135, 173. 

Nature, restful, 53. 

Nature study, 116, 207. 

Nerve strain, n, 14, 34, 66. 

Nervousness, 3, 22, 40. 

Newspapers, 139. 

Noise, 18. 

Normal schools, training of, 275. 

Novels, 93. 

Nutting, 119. 

Observation, 22. 
Occupation, 190. 
Oil City, 47. 
Open air, 54, 185. 
Opera glasses, 118. 
Opportunities, social, 169. 
Optimism, 59. 
Organized play, 27, 205. 
Overwork, 10, 35, 36, 90. 

Pageants, 135. 

Paper towels, 18. 

Pension, 59. 

Personal attractiveness, 38. 

Personal influence, 38. 

Personal peace, 80. 

Personality, 40. 

Pets, 71. 

Physical examination, 16. 

Picnics, 45, 107, 120, 144, 170. 

Pigeons, 71. 

Pilgrimages, 135, 232. 

Plan, need of, 180. 

Play, and open air, 184; organized, 27, 

205 ; spirit of, 33, 57 ; summer, 215. 
Playground director, 196. 
Playgrounds, lighting of, 103. 
Possession, 59. 

Program of recreation, in, 120, 123, 138, 
Pullaway, 80. 



Rabbits, 71. 

Rainy days, 112. 

Reading, 44, 46, 48, 49, 55, 63, 65, 89, 92, 
107, 108, 139. 

Rebuilding, 52. 

Recreation, at the seashore, 218; at sum- 
mer schools, 247, 254 ; definition of, 43 ; 
director of, 266, 274; evening, 172; 
in the mountains, 218; passive, 44, 
46, 48, 49; program of, in, 120, 123, 
138; social, 44, 47, 49. 

Recreation survey, 263. 

Resort, summer, 217; week-end, 156. 

Rest, 134, 141, 188. 

Retirement, age of, n. 

Room, teachers', 87. 

Rowing, 76, 83. 

Salaries, comparison of, 198. 

Saturday, 105. 

School, continuation, 175; summer, 200, 

209. 
School farm, 209. 
School hygiene, 6, 14. 
School periods, length of, 26. 
Scouting, 91. 

Seashore, recreation at, 218. 
Shoes, 55. 

Shopping, 63, 65, 107, 109, 166. 
Sierra Club, 104, 148. 
Singing, 84, 120. 
Skating, 45, 47, 49, 64, 78, 109. 
Skiing, 78, 79. 
Sleep, 52, 53, 57, 58. 
Sleeping, 79, 108, 150, 230. 
Snowshoeing, 79. 
Social centers, 91, 98. 
Social life, 183. 
Social opportunities, 169. 
Social recreation, 44, 46, 49. 
Society, 56, 94, 138. 
Spirit of play, 33, 57. 
Sports, 45, 47, 48, 49- 
Spring, 61. 
Steamship, 235. 
Stereopticon, 24. 
Street car, 63, 65, 74. 
Study, 92, 108, 184. 
Success, 12. 
Summer, 178. 



288 



Index 



Summer chautauqua, 250. 

Summer play, 215. 

Summer recreation, 247, 254. 

Summer resort, 217. 

Summer school, 200; program of, 202, 
259 ; selection of, 266 ; summer quarters 
of, 245; who shall teach, 212. 

Sunday, 133. 

Sunrise, in. 

Supervision, 29. 

Survey, 103, 124, 263. 

Sweeping, 69. 

Swimming, 25, 45, 47, 48, 49. 64, 77, 83, 
104. 

Teacherage, 98. 

Teachers, benefit for, 99. 

Teachers' club, 94; room for, 87. 

Teachers' clubhouse, 155. 

Teachers' institute, 159. 

Teaching, enjoyment of, 21, 40; summer, 

197 ; as an ideal profession, 276. 
Temperament, 32. 
Tennis, 45, 47, 49, 50, 64, 65, 81, 82, 95, 

107, 109. 
Terman, Dr., 2, 7, 68. 
Textbooks, 37. 

Theater, 54, 100, 107, 108, 172. 
Three R's, 28. 
Thunderstorms, 113. 
Tobogganing, 78. 
Toilets, 17, 18. 
Towels, paper, 18. 
Train, 236. 
Travel, 142, 220. 
Trips, boat, 142 ; 

walking, 28, 208. 



nature study, 207 ; 



Trolley, 142. 
Tuberculin test, 6. 
Tuberculosis, 4, 55. 
Tutoring, 194. 

Vacations, 141, 157. 
Vegetables, 23. 
Visiting, 63, 65, 88, 152, 215. 
Vocational guidance, 32. 
Vocational training, 32. 
Volley ball, 50, 102. 

Waiting, 193. 

Walking, 45, 47, 48, 49, 55, 64, 65, 69, 
74, 79, 89, 107, 144, 223 ; clothing for, 
225. 

Walking club, 274. 

Walking trips, 28, 208. 

Walks, program for, 148; week-end, 
148. 

Wandervogel, 98, 124. 

Weather, 112. 

Week-ends, 141. 

Week-end camp, 152, 257. 

Week-end resort, 156. 

Week-end visit, 152. 

Week-end walks, program for, 148. 

Winter, 62. 

Winter sports, 77. 

Wood, Dr., 2, 7, 29, 67. 

Work, summer, 187 ; as a means of educa- 
tion, 188. 

Worship, 134. 

Yellowstone National Park, 240. 
Yosemite, 240. 



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